


Working Hard or Hardly Working?

by otaka101



Series: Dragon Age 2: Elf-Blooded Hawkes [1]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Bethy and Carver are the first set of twins, Elf-Blooded Hawke (Dragon Age), F/F, F/M, Leon and Sapphire were the second set of twins, M/M, Malcolm Hawke was an elf in this universe, Multi, Rae is the 'canon' Hawke, more than one Hawke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2020-12-09 18:42:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20999525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otaka101/pseuds/otaka101
Summary: After the Hawke family makes it to Kirkwall, mostly intact, they end up indentured to Anthenril and Meeran to pay off Gamlen's debts.With the opportunity to get out of their Uncle's filthy hovel and get the templars off their backs, the Hawke siblings jump at the chance to make their fortune, even if it means re-evaluating their morals along the way...





	1. A Messy Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Italicized text is Sapphire's thoughts. Wasn't really sure how to start this series, but I figured kicking it off with the 'official' meeting between the Hawke family would be a good place to start, since Varric is telling Cassandra the story.  
Please comment on what you like or didn't! :D

We walked out of the Dwarven Guild Merchant Guild, and I stayed behind everyone else, since Rae has effectively cut me from the big decision making parts of the expedition, which means I'm to do as she says, since my information got us humiliated so publicly.

  
I saw the fiery headed pickpocket long before he was even three steps close to any of us, but he obviously was a rookie, went for my coin purse, thinking I'd be an easier target. _Foolish, foolish, foolish._ I let him take the purse on my left hip, since it only has shards and fragments of gems and jewels anyways, nothing I can do with them but sell it.

  
Rae snaps over, hearing the snatching of a purse, and sees the pickpocket runoff. Her face scrunches up in rage and I swallow the protest I was going to raise, to let him go. She's not in a good mood and if I say something, I might just get in more trouble.

  
**"HEY!"** Rae goes racing off after the thief, moving fast and I can see that the thief is looking back, terrified that Rae is chasing him and looks like he wants to shit himself.  
Suddenly, the cranking of a bolt and a trigger loudly releasing, then the pickpocket goes flying into the wall, pinned down by a heavy bolt to a building wall. Rae stops in her tracks, her hand flying to the sword at her waist as a dwarf appears from the shadows, uncranking this-this heavy-looking golden wooden framed crossbow, with a smirk on his face.

  
"I knew a guy that could charm every coin out of your pockets just with a smile, but you? You can't work Hightown, let alone the Merchants Guild." He comes out and opens his hand for the thief to put it in, which the thief did, trembling in terror. "How about you find a new line of work?"

  
The dwarf punched the thief in the jaw, a clean hit, then yanked the bolt from the thief's shoulder deftly, letting him crumple to the ground. The dwarf was quick though, I'll give him that, I saw the pouch of silvers he slipped in the thief's pocket when he punched him in the jaw. Tricky tricky, very tricky. I'd best not fall for anything he has to say, and keep my guard up, lest I find myself on the ground like his little friend.

  
The dwarf twirls the bolt between his fingers, his chest hair open the sky, hair tucked back smartly in a half knot, heavy stubble all along his jawline, trailing to his hairy chest. Gods. This was certainly....a man. I'd never seen anyone like this in Ferelden and I'd gotten used to how the qunari dressed, but he just seems so, so...I can't tell if I want to say confident and assured or sleazy and promiscuous. Well, let's see how this goes.

  
"Varric Tethras, at your service."

  
_!!!_  
_Tethras?! I knew it! I knew it was a good idea to stay behind a bit longer and get more information on the Tethras family! I knew the little brother was going to be around the area and I was hoping I could steer Rae and the others to meet with him, since he's been inquiring after investors. But I guess I was a bit too late earlier. All's well that ends well, I guess since he's here now. Though, I still wish I had the same amount of authority over the expedition that I did this morning, not being undermined all the time would just be a nice change to my usual routine._  
_Shit. Shit, none of them, save for maybe Bethany looks like they were impressed by that. Shit, shit, shit, I have to convince them too now?_

  
"I apologize for Bartrand, he wouldn't know a good opportunity if it hit him square in the jaw."

  
Rae huffed, crossing her arms, "But you would?"

  
"I would! What we need isn't a hireling however, what we need is a partner. Invest in the expedition to the Deep Roads, 50 sovereigns and my brother won't be able to refuse!"

  
_Please, please, please, tell me this isn't his pitch, he's not really trying to win Rae over with this, is he? The smirk on his face is still pretty strong, oh gods, he really thinks this is going to work._

  
"Do you think we have 50 sovereigns to invest in this expedition? If we did, we certainly wouldn't be trying to buy into the expedition as mere hirelings."

  
_Dammit, Rae, c'mon, just work with me here!_

  
"Well, Rae..."

  
"What?"

  
_Oh yes, the voice of reason, Leon! Thank you, brother. Tonight I'll make sure I put together that elfroot wrap you love so much for this._

  
"Rae, as it is, no one else wants to hire us for being Ferelden and even when they do, it's always in back alleys. Nothing we do seems legitimate anymore." Leon fiddles with strand of his hair as Rae glares daggers into him, probably for telling our business with strangers present.

  
Bethany clears her throat and steps in, "And besides Rae, we can't keep working for unscrupulous groups anymore, for the, ah, other reason."

  
Rae snorts, "If they really wish to move to throw us away and lock the key, then they'll have to fight us. I'm sure they won't want to have a public slaughter on their hands. Templars are cowards at best and sniveling fools waving their swords at worst."

  
Varric smiles, though it seems a bit more forced, unsure. "The Tethras family is well known to the nobles of Hightown as well as the other noble dwarven families. If you invest in us, then you'll get the same prestige that we will once we come back with a fortune."

  
Carver's sold, I can tell. He's grinning and the whole 'prestige' thing is definitely going to his head, "C'mon, the dwarf's making some sense. Sort of. And what better way to prove the Hawke name then to become professional adventurers?"

  
The creases on Rae's face is starting to loosen, but if I say anything now, she's going to clam up. Please let this work out.

  
Rae turns to Varric, "Exactly what are your plans for this expedition? Adventurers have a high risk of death doing them in and your brother certainly didn't care about our beneficial healing services. Why would he want to bring us on the team when he clearly has a distaste for our methods?"

  
Varric clears his throat and his face looks a bit strained under the sun, a drop of sweat running down his earlobe. He's losing confidence and he must not care all that much about magic either. Typical dwarven arrogance. "While I do agree with my brother that we don't have a pressing need for regular healing, we are going into the Deep Roads, and if you can claim that you have some kind of certification or proof that you can do as you say, then it's a bit hard for either of us to take you at your word."

  
Wrong choice of words, Rae looks offended, her eyes narrowing, as she takes an aggressive step forward, this is going bad, I have to say something!

  
"So, you and your brother must have heard of our remarkable prowess on the field, yes? As well as our uncanny ability to get the job done? After all, I can't think of any other reason you'd want us to invest in your expedition if you didn't think there was something to us, right?"

  
He latches onto the olive branch and starts talking faster, his hands starting to move quickly as he speaks, Rae staying close, looming over him looking him in the eye, but hopefully he can do something with that. "Yes, yes, we've heard that you not only faced off against darkspawn, but you've also managed to revive and ward against the darkspawn taint. Valuable to have when going down into a blight infested hole, don't you think?"

  
Rae takes a step back and I can see that Varric has sweat a lot more since before she'd stepped in his face. "Fine then, I'll give this little expedition a chance."  
Leon then tugs at her elbow, "That's great and all, but what about Aveline? Maybe she might have some work for us?"

  
Varric, not wanting to be left out, said, "Meet with me when you have the chance. I'll be at the Hanged Man when I'm not with you."

  
Rae snorted, looking even more irritated then before, "Great, now I have a leech on the team too. Fine then, Varric. I'll meet up with you in the Hanged Man later, but you better have something good, or this partnership will be a short one."

  
Rae stalks off, ignoring Varric as he tries to hand back the coin purse from the thief from earlier, with the others following behind her, leaving Varric in the dust.  
I walk up to Varric, trying to put on my best and well-polished smile, "Excuse my older sister, and the rest of my family. I am Sapphire Hawke, the youngest of the Hawke family. That coin purse you were trying to give Rae was mine actually."

  
"Ah," He eyes me critically up and down, then must not have found anything of note because his voice is much less interested when he speaks again. "Nice to meet you, serah. Perhaps you should keep a hand on your purse, little Hawke, if you want to make it into the big leagues."

  
I bite my tongue. As much as he'd like to paint his brother as the only ass of the family, it's easy to see that the berry didn't fall very far from the bush. "Thank you for that gracious tip, messere." I try to hold back the venom in my voice, but it's a near thing. "However, I couldn't help but notice your failed attempt to charm my sister very well. It seems that she's very willing to jump ship at the very first flaw in the expedition. It would be a shame if she were to find out exactly how badly the expedition needed the coin, or was my information wrong that you and Bartrand have been fighting over the numbers lately?"

  
His eyes sharpen, his smirk widens and turns more vicious, "Oh? Where did you get information like that?"

  
I smile, enjoying the way he looks a bit red and angry under the mid-morning sun, "It doesn't matter, if the information isn't any good. But judging by your reaction, I'd say it is."

  
"So, who's the person that told you about the expedition's little 'problem'."  
I smile wider, ready to wipe that smug look off his face, "You did, just now. I'd gotten a few tall tales about this expedition, but I'd had my doubts. You're the one who confirmed all of my suspicions." I give him a falsely courteous bow, "I'm so pleased that you felt I was worthy of such knowledge."

  
Varric crosses his arms, looking disgruntled then he plasters the composed look back on. "Well then, perhaps you and I need to have a conversation in the Hanged Man before Rae and I do. So, why don't we go down to Lowtown now?"

  
He almost manages to grab my arm, but I slip by him and make sure I'm just a step behind him, and I talk into his ear, "That would be lovely, serah. I'll see you there."

  
By the time he manages to turn his body to get a good look at me, I've disappeared into the shadows of the pillars, the buildings hiding my frame with their sharp edges and overly shiny lustre in direct light. In the shadows, it's perfect for me to blend in with my dark blue robes and black boots, near a doorway that's far larger and more eye grabbing than I am.

  
He clenches his fists, then seems to mutter to himself, getting back in check, then storms off in the direction of Lowtown through the markets. Best not to go that way then. Perhaps I have lost favor with Rae and the others, but maybe I can still work things behind the scenes.


	2. An Arrangement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the meeting with the Tethras family went terribly wrong, Sapphire meets with Varric to see if they can still salvage the working relationship.

I walk through the door, noticing there's only the skylight above in the hallway that's an easy way out. The window atop the door is shuttered and would surely make it harder to escape should he prove not to be amenable to my little slip earlier. At the time, riling him up had seemed like a good idea, now though, that I'm supposed to go in his territory and negotiate with him, he has the home advantage. I can't tell what the inside is like, the door is firmly shut and locked. 

I swallow, looking around to make sure, just in case that no one is watching me, letting the shadows pull me closer to their embrace. I take a deep breath, raise my hand, pause--shit this seems like a really bad decision the more I think about it. Do I--should I knock? Pick the lock, show my prowess with getting through doors or would that just piss him off? No, no, no, knocking is probably best. I'm pretty sure that's normal way to greet people. 

I think.

I knock hard and firm and immediately regret it. What if I knocked too loudly and interrupted something illicit? What if someone else heard? He has an army of spies, or so they say, but that can't be true, right---?

"Ah, Little Hawke. Come in."

I wrinkle my nose but still go forward. I'm short, but I'm not little! There is a huge difference!

But that's not the point right now, so I make sure that my gait is its usual sure-footed step, rather than stumbling or getting knocked on wall corners and then go to a chair. And stand by it. Do I... is it rude to sit in a chair? Do I just sit or wait to be invited? Or am I not allowed to sit in the chairs? Some people make me stand, I don't know if he's like that too,too-tootoo--

"Why don't you have a seat?"

The invitation is a fucking gift and I make sure to deftly slide into the chair, moving it as quietly and quickly as possible and slide into the seat. Dammit, if Rae or any of the others were here, they'd be criticizing my negotiation body language and tell me to sit up and do it all over. Do I have to get back...? No, I'll play it by ear, make conversation so he doesn't notice how big this seat is around me. How it dwarfs me. Hehehehe. No, not the time for jokes, time to be serious.

"So, Varric Tethras, I wanted to talk to you first before you talked to Rae, but if you recall I wasn't quite able to keep that from happening."

He leans forward, at takes out his crossbow, stroking and p...petting it??? Why? Whatever, not my business. "That's funny because I was hoping to get in contact with either Rae or Bethany about investing in the expedition, but for some reason, for someone who has no authority in this matter, you're quite well informed."

Alright, I'm already on the ropes. I've been in this sort of position before, so many times, too many times, _(how many times?)_ enough times to pull this off. The tension is almost comforting, compared to his false politeness before, much more easy to deal with. "Well, you see the reason I no longer have authority other any of the proceedings is...that disaster of a meeting. Rae and the others must've seen Bartrand earlier than I expected and they were expecting me to make sure that we were hired on. I...wasn't able to deliver that. Ha, as it is. Anyways, did you check that pouch from the thief from before?"

He raises an eyebrow, his fingers brushing against his cocking trigger and then--oh that's just great--what had to be the firing trigger of the crossbow. Bad body language, bad body language, _danger-danger-danger!_ "Why is that pouch something that you would bring up now? Do you think so lowly of me to pilfer someone who I'm supposed to be putting my trust in?"

I swallow, it's low and covered by my hood around my neck, but I can't keep eye contact. Weak. Weak, but I have to continue on. "No, that's not what I think. But." I look up and manage to look him in the eyes again, gaining my nerve again. "I want you to see what's inside and tell me what you find inside isn't something you'd like to see much, much more of."

Is that the sliding of a bolt in place? I r-really hope not. "If it happens to be some kind of bomb or sneak attack--"

I stand up from my seat, but only end up slamming my body back into the table and back into the seat, a slight sting from the force, my hands that had been shaking 'no' stilled as the dull pain rung in. "Nothing like that, I assure you. Not coin, but! You can keep what's inside!"

He looks at me, making a show of leaving his crossbow on his lap and grabbing a coin pouch from a pocket, definitely one of mine, I could see the crimson inner stitching from last week's ruined attempts at learning how to sew and knit. His eyes widen, just a tad, but they widen all the same which is a step forward all the same. "Pieces of gemstones, huh? And where would a Ferelden refugee get something like this?"

I sit back in my chair, holding back a smirk, this is my time to shine, no one else around to steal the spotlight. "While it is quite true that both my sisters are highly accomplished healers and both my brothers' skilled fighters, but I have the ability to get my hands on things like that and other things. Far more precious than any gems. If you put them, hmm, just dump 'em if you would." I gesture to his large dwarven table and motion him to just toss them on the table. He looks suspicious but he obliges and I let the electricity fly from my fingers to the gemstones.

It's easy, a little trick I learned from a while back but Varric looks intrigued, so I draw it out just a half-second longer, but no more because we have more important things to be doing right now and I need to stay on track, dammit! The gems form into the words that the wardens had sent me, in return for sending them that information, pick up the giant amalgamation of gems and give it a few hard shakes, turning it into solid and flexible parchment with clear and visible writing on it. With a grin, I hold it out to him and proclaim, "Information is the most expensive and the most priceless, don't you think?"

He reads it, takes it all in, then takes it a pair of glasses and goes over it, disbelievingly then puts them down on the table, next to the gemstone parchment. "This is signed by a warden and there's even a name for a contact. How did you get your hands on this sort of thing?"

The smirk is put in full swing, "My specialty isn't nearly so grand as the others. I'm just the family disappointment and I use that title to make sure no one ever suspects me of being smart enough to ferret information from people like this." I lean forward my smirk widening, "I've heard that you're the guy that knows a guy, the real brains behind the Tethras name, so I figured it'd be best for us to discuss while our older siblings are being both so...thick-headed."


	3. The Contract-First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After successfully goading Varric into a meeting, Sapphire thinks they have the upper hand, but Varric's certainly no slouch at negotiating either and things end up going much differently than what they had originally anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This in Varric's POV now, as they seal the deal for what they're going to be doing for the expedition and this is the start of Varric and Sapphire's rivalry. It's more catty in the beginning simply because of their similar personalities clashing together, which makes it fun to write all the bonding moments lol.

I watch Sapphire closely, trying to keep eye contact with them through their thick white curls clouding around their face. I'm looking directly at them and it's still hard for me to exactly confirm their features with my own eyes.

  
They're sitting confidently in the seat, though it's dwarven made, and I'm not sure how they've managed to settle in so soon in my suite, but I need to get them off their game.

  
"So, Varric," They drawl looking comfortable and taking off their overcoat, placing it on the back of the seat. "What is it you do? I've shown you a few of my...many talents that I employ. I'd like to know what you have to offer."

  
Hmph, this person, Sapphire Hawke obviously must not have much power in the family, if they're this dim-witted. I lean back and rather than glare as I want to, I give them my most disarming grin. "Weren't you listening when I introduced myself earlier? I know all the people in the city worth knowing and I can find your family jobs that would usually never be open on the market to Fereldens."

  
They give me an odd smile, "Very true, and you told us that you have Bianca to keep your back guarded." They pause shifting in their seat, "However, just as Bartrand refused Rae, and so in return she's not going to be exactly eager or willing to call on you or your services. So, I need something I can use to convince Rae and the others to be on board with this."

  
My jaw tenses and I pick up a pencil to start writing all of their words down. People never seem to understand that a liar is great at exposing other people's lies. And I'm the best liar and storyteller in Kirkwall. "You're telling me that you came to this meeting as a representative of the Hawke family without any approval from the Head or the Scion?" I huff and write in the margins 'reckless'.

  
They give me an impish grin, "I always did say it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission." They raise a dark brow, a contrast from their snow-white hair, "Besides, something tells me that you didn't exactly get approval from Bartrand to offer us a position as an investor. Otherwise, you'd have been at the meeting with us. Not only that," They stop for the slightest of seconds, hesitating, "If this was a legitimate business deal, then you probably would be having this meeting in your estate, rather than a tavern."

  
I bite back a scathing remark, writing down everything and let my hands rest in the lull of the conversation. Sapphire knew that the expedition was running on coin before I told their family about it, and they seem to know something about surface dwarves if they knew about the estate. I scribble down 'cunning' in the margins next to 'shady'. "Well...as I did say before, I want your family to hire in on the expedition as investors and hired muscle. Anything you and your family can carry would belong to you, and the Hawke family would get 33% of what we get from selling the artifacts on the surface."

  
Sapphire taps their chin, tracing something on the table, "Did Bartrand and Rae have a similar arrangement? Exactly why was there ire between the two of them? Not to mention..." Their eyes cut from the table to mine, blazing lavender boring into mine, demanding my full and utmost attention as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "What lump sum are we talking in difference between the two contracts that have been offered? I'd like to see some official paperwork."  
It's hard to stifle my grin as my hands fly over the page, scribbling out 'cheeky' and 'well-informed'. "Well, with some of the information you have, I'm wondering if there was someone that you know that was willing to give up the details."

  
Their eyes shrink, but I can't tell if it's because of glare or if it has something to do with the rest of their face suddenly being hard to make out as well. "Varric Tethras, if you're suggesting that I get my leads from a mole, perhaps you haven't been properly paying attention." They shove back their chair and stand to their full height, glowering at me. Not down at me, because they aren't that much taller than I am, even if I was standing upright now I'd most likely come up to their nose. Interesting. The other siblings; Rae, Carver, Bethany, were all much taller than me, and I at best came up to their chests.  
So, that must mean Sapphire is one of the runts in the family.

  
Sapphire's smile is vicious, as though they could hear my mental dig, watching me write down the conversation, eyes sharp and bright. Inhuman. I jot down in the margins 'creepy'.

  
"So," they remark casually, "It's normal to write down private conversations?"

  
My eyes narrow and I keep writing, unphased by their question. "That's the prudent thing to do, I am a businessman after all."

  
Sapphire's grin expands, unnaturally and their fire flickers wildly, their eyes growing brighter, teeth seeming to sharpen in the low light. They hold out their hand and suddenly and translucent ball of magic hovers above their open palm.

  
I shove back my seat and draw Bianca, my finger on the trigger, eye trained on their throat. "Why don't you put that way, before I have to do something you'll regret."

  
Sapphire cocks their head, "I don't think so."

  
I fire one bolt and reach for the next, only for the bolt to fly back into Bianca, my body forcibly relaxes and repeats the motions I just made in reverse, my body out of my control as though I was a marionette until I'm back in my seat with Bianca back in my lap, the bolt still in her quiver, ready to fire.  
I glare at their unimpressed face, and they just respond, "Are you done with your threats now?"

  
I inch my fingers over to the knife on my belt, "Sure."  
With a huff and a wave of their hand, Sapphire's glowing ball of magic shimmered and shook until it finally stabilized and I could see what it was showing.  
It was us, or more accurately, us from when Sapphire walked into my suite and we'd began talking. The words were the exact same as what I had written down. They give me a large grin, looking smug, "I can record my meetings as well." The orb of magic dissipated and turned into a small parchment booklet, small blue chords holding the pages together. "After all, I think of myself as a business person as well."

  
I wait until they sit back down in their seat before I take my hand off the knife and back on my pen. A new word is added to the margins 'smartass'.  
"I see that you," I start neutrally, "Certainly seem to think you have things figured out."

  
They chuckle slightly, "Still haven't figured out why you refuse to answer my questions."

  
I give a sigh, trying to look like I'm genuinely upset by the news, "Well you seem to have lots of good questions, but your family hasn't come to a consensus yet on whether or not they want to back the expedition." I shrug, entirely for their benefit. "Sorry. Family rules and all. You know how it is, I'm sure."

  
They don't respond right away, the hair completely covering their eyes and I can hardly make out their nose, though the light hasn't dimmed in the slightest. I think I see a scowl, "Then this meeting has been for nothing. If you're unwilling to work with me, good luck convincing the others."

  
The snatch their overcoat from the back of the chair and shove back from the table, stalking towards the door. I wait until their hand touches the door handle before calling out, "Now, if you wanted this contract so badly, I'm sure you have no intention of walking away empty-handed, hm?" I smirk as their shoulders tense, just the slightest. "Your sisters and brothers didn't want to invest in the expedition, and though you do have some considerable talents, I need to know that you won't use them against me or my house, along with the 50 sovereigns and your family's backing."

  
The spin towards me, their eyes alight with an angry, other-worldly fire, "All this talk of what I can do for you, what I have to do to accommodate you, and not once have you offered anything in return, Varric Tethras." Their hands start to slash in the air in furious gestures, only for them to stop themself and shove their hands into their armpits and spread their legs into a prepared stance. "Why should I give a damn about you in particular, when you haven't been able to live up to your own hype, huh?"  
Ouch.

  
I narrow my eyes, still my hands and put them back on Bianca, "...how about this? I make you my second and I introduce you to Bartrand?"

  
_"Do better."_ They hiss. "You make Bartrand seem unlikeable and unbearable, why would this be considered a perk?"

  
I stroke Bianca's stock, admiring the intricate latticework along her grip. "While Bartrand might be hard to take, he is quite skilled in politics and I can him give you access to some of our trading knowledge. As my second, you'll be able to accompany me to my meetings with the Merchant's Guild and you'll be assisting me with my contracts, all while getting to learn the delicacies of dwarven nobility." And all the wonderful backstabbing intrigue that comes with it, with a healthy dose of paranoia and insomnia on the side.

  
They seem to calm down, considering their options, then; "What's a 'second'? Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

  
"You'll be part of the Tethras family, my right hand to your left. As one of us rises, the other will be right beside them, for better or for worse."

  
They hesitate, "That sounds like marriage..."

  
They're not far wrong, but now's not the time to mention that. "It's not a marriage, just a tradition in which two people agree to be loyal to each other in and out of battle."

  
"Marriage." They replied, not even giving it a second thought. "But you attacked me earlier. If you want me to watch your back in and out of battle, then I need a promise from you first."

  
"And," I say slowly, "What would that entail?"

  
Sapphire shrugs, "The same as any other promise, I suppose. We say some words then shake hands." They snort, "What did, you think I was going to bewitch you or something? Hardly."

  
I stand and heft Bianca onto my back, slower than normal as a show of good faith. Once Biance is fully holstered, Sapphire strides over to me, their hands now swinging freely at their sides rather than shoved in their pits. Why'd they even shove their hands under their pits anyways...?  
Than off comes the hood and white puffs of hair is pushed behind ears, and for the first time since they walked into my suite tonight, I'm able to clearly see what they look like. Sapphire has light eyes, blue or purple of some kind, dark skin and rich, nose sharp and large that lead to full lips coated in purple lipstick. Their chin was strong and their cheekbones were high and round, more prominent by the heavy bags under their eyes and gaunt cheeks. But the most glaring thing was their ears, long and pointy, unlike any humans but certainly like an elf's.

  
But the Hawkes are a family of humans, right? Or maybe...the Hawke are a family of half-elven mages?  
And they just fell right into my lap.

  
I barely hold back a grin, thinking of all the ways I could use this for my contacts, but instead, I hold out my hand. "I promise not to attack you with my hands, knives, daggers, Bianca and what have you."

  
They grip my hand firmly and a strong undercurrent of electricity runs through my body. It's not painful but the hair on my chest stands on end and my skin feels ever so slightly warmer than it did before.

  
"I, Sapphire Hawke, promise not to come towards you or approach you with any ill intent or malice. I'll watch your back as you'll watch mine and while in each other's care, neither of us will fall prey to death. Are these terms acceptable to you, Varric Tethras? Do you promise to do the same in return?"

  
"Yes."

  
They nod and all of my clothes feel thicker but somehow lighter at the same time as they let go of my hand, looking somewhat sheepish.  
"From this moment forward, I guess, I'm your second now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this took a while because I had to transcribe it all out! I have a bunch more chapters along with this one, but the thing is I have to get them all typed out on the computer and that takes time, especially with the revisions. I haven't abandoned this story, I promise, I'm just typing it all up since I'm more of a handwriting person >.>  
The next chapter is going to be starring Aveline, Carver, and Leon from Leon's POV, and I'm hoping to get this next one up in the next two days or so.


	4. Outsourced Bounties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sapphire makes their deals with Varric, Leon and the others decide to head over to the Keep for any work, with mixed feelings on the matter. Aveline is her normal charming self and manages to get out of the conversation with all her teeth intact because Leon is much more diplomatic than either her or Carver are willing to test to have a fight in the open.  
Rae and Bethany aren't in this particular scene because they're off writing down their plans, heading towards a square holding the last heir to the Vael line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, a bit later than planned, but here it is!

Here in the Keep among the nobles and upper crust, I can't stop sweating. They all glare at us, like they'll turn into rabid animals at any moment and try to attack us.  
Rae and Bethany don't even seem to care, walking with confidence with their staves and swords out in the open. Just being an apostate can get you killed or made Tranquil and they openly wear their staves, fearlessly.

  
But that just means one of us in the family had to worry if they're not going to and think twice when they charge in head-first, so I guess the task has fallen down to me. At least my hair is already white, I don't have to worry about it going grey.

  
I want to hold Carver's hand, since he's close enough, but I'm an adult, and that would be embarrassing anyways.  
Sapphire isn't here, told me they would be settling the deal with Varric, but I'm also glad they didn't come along for this. They might say something so biting about the guard again and Aveline will be 'honor-bound' to come to blows and try to throw them in jail again. Aveline's probably the guard with the highest arrest count, if only because Sapphire allows Aveline to jail their test dummies. Not that Aveline knows they're test dummies.

  
Aveline's easy to pick out among the other guards, she hasn't changed into her official armor and her hair makes her stick out like an orange thumb. While Rae decided to 'investigate' a guard Sapphire had gotten a 'report' about. Whenever they use code words, I can never tell if they're talking about bartering with someone or murdering them. Just in case Aveline gets it into her head to use me to boost her arrest rate, I make sure to not to know all the details.  
I tap her shoulder, "Aveline!"

  
She doesn't even bother to look up from the board, still scanning the patrol schedule. "Hello, Leon."  
Is she not even going to acknowledge Carver? "That's it? You don't have anything else to say?"

  
"What?" She turns around to face us, "Oh sorry. It feels like we just spoke. I've been keeping an eye on all of you." She motions to a table with bare wooden chairs for us to sit in. "Information is one of the few perks of this job. Watch out for Bartrand--he's real 'nughumper' they say."

  
The hair on the back of my neck shoots up and I shift into the seat, Carver's presence the only thing keeping me from bolting, but he doesn't look too happy either, the freckles on his face have gone all red. We only just came out from that meeting with both Bartrand and Varric less than an hour ago, how many people did she have watching us? I glare at her, "You know I don't like it when you have people stalking me."

  
"Saved me camping on your doorstep." It's all she offers as a reply, but seeing as Carver is reaching towards his belt and I'm not moved by her half-assed excuse she hangs her head, "After what we went through to get here..."

  
She trails off looking away, like that makes it any better. I cross my arms and legs, staring at her pointedly because there's no way she thinks that sorry bit will satisfy me.  
"Well..." Aveline gives me a weak smile, "You're no child, but I take care of my friends."

  
I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder and I recognize the gesture.

  
'Hold me back, before I kill her' that's what it means. I can't really find it in me to want to keep him from fighting her, but it would get us thrown in jail, so I sling my arm around his shoulder so he doesn't grab a grenade. "That's how you take care of your friends? You have your guard friends stalk them so they 'stay in line'?" He scoffs and his fingers grip my shoulder tighter, not enough to hurt but I can feel his anger seeping through. "I know you married a templar, but I didn't realize that meant you followed the creed too."

"No one was even talking to you, Carver." Aveline snaps, looking disgruntled.

  
"I don't remember asking for your permission to talk either, but that doesn't mean you can shut me up. Besides," he slouches in the seat and his fingers tense on my shoulder, but I keep my eyes on his other hand trailing towards one of his many knives. "I should get to know the type of people that work for the place I'm applying for, right? Getting to know the workplace and all that."

  
Aveline huffs, "I wouldn't hold my breath on that application."

  
I feel my brows furrow and I wish the others were here. They would normally have something witty or terrifying to say that would shut her up, but all I can think of is why in the Void she would know that Carver's application isn't going to be accepted. "What do you mean by that, Aveline? Why wouldn't Carver be accepted into the guard?"  
"Er, ah-see, the thing is..." she looks away and I take this time to attack verbally before Carver does physically, his green eyes flashing from the gleam of metal in his lap.  
"What, Aveline. Are you saying that you already know that he's not going to be accepted?"

  
"Seems awfully odd," Carver chimes in, zeroing in on her hesitation, "That a new guard would know about the application process that only the captain and lieutenants would know about."

  
"There's..." Aveline flounders, "A lot of applications and the guard doesn't often take...people with your background."

  
I feel Carver start to stand and I press him back down into his seat. I wish Snuffles were here, Aveline can't lie to a pure-bred mabari after all.  
I try to play nice, mentally hoping that she's not going to say what I think she's going to say. "And what would those backgrounds be?"

  
She looks us in the eyes this time, easily. "You're elves. Or at the very least, you have the ears to show you aren't human."  
Carver throws back his head and laughs. It's maniacal and bitter but my stomach is just shriveled up and I wish the seat would break under me. It would've been better if she didn't say it out loud. I shouldn't have asked.

  
"Is the guard anything like serving the king? Do you like it?" It's nothing to dissipate the heat in my elbows and cheeks in anger, but she doesn't need to realize that I'm shaken by her words.  
Aveline cocks her head, "I thought the two of you were the only ones to serve during Ostagar?"

  
Carver is back in the conversation, but her eyes are glazed over like he wants to be anywhere but here right now, and honestly I don't blame him. "We were. Rae came and helped us when we came back with the ash warriors, made sure we didn't catch the blight."

  
"Too bad she didn't help Wesley." Aveline mumbles under her breath but honestly I'm glad that he's dead. A place like Kirkwall and that man would've made sure to get Sapphire, Rae, and Bethany killed or made tranquil within a day. "I don't think that it's quite the same, it's not like we're fighting literal monsters anymore, some of these people have families." She pauses then looks at Carver with a wan smile, "What about you? Do you miss it?"

"No."

  
Aveline's smile twitches and falls as she turns to me, "Bit of a tit, your brother."

  
Carver holds me back before I slap her with all five fingers across the face for that remark. I plaster on a neutral smile, "So, Aveline, are you still having trouble? I thought you were getting past all of that."

  
Her jaw drops, "Leon!"

  
Carver relaxes a bit, laughing at her expense and looking less like he's spoiling for a fight.

  
She sighs, "Lately, I don't know. I've been pushed out to some dead patrols. Maybe I stepped on someone's toes?"

  
Carver snorts and replies, "More than likley you stomped all over them."

  
Aveline pointedly ignores my big brother's remark and continues, "It's just my charm right?"

  
The evil little grin she gives me makes me babble, the chair creaking as I fidget. "R-right! I mean some people just can't take your approach is all! That's all I'm suggesting!"

  
She nods and looks directly at Carver, who is entirely unimpressed with her and says, "Some people just can't handle a _strong_ woman. They just can't compare so they have to compensate some other ways." She nods at Carver's greatsword, "Like your brother. Just as an example."

  
I can also see when there's clear corruption and foul play at work, but Aveline does this all the time. Pretends like _all_ the criticisms against her are unfounded because they're based on sexism, pretends like people don't have a good reason to fear guards patrolling in the street when they don't bother to deal with the gangs roaming in the street.  
She sighs, as though she's just got the most important problems in all of Thedas, "I should go where I'm needed. In fact, I might even have a job for you. Let me know if you want to do a favor for the Kirkwall guard."

  
"Does this 'favor' come with a coin purse at the end?" Carver huffs, "Otherwise. Kirkwall guard can review my application as a recruit."

  
"Hmph." Aveline looks down her nose at Carver, and I wonder if she realizes that she's looking down at me and our entire family too when she does. "Maferath's soggy arsehole, Carver, this is why no one wants to hire you! You have a poor work ethic and you're far too forceful to keep a job."

  
"And yet somehow," Carver bites out, "You've got a job here and you were put up for lieutenant. Something doesn't add up in the picture you're painting."

  
"If you're done butchering analogies," She presses on ignoring the valid point Carver raised, "I'm here if you need me, **Leon.** Maker knows I could use some more satisfying work."

  
I take a deep breath and remind myself the best way to keep my family out of the gallows is to keep the guard in your pocket. Swallowing my revulsion, I ask, "Alright, Aveline, what would you have us do?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters I'm hoping to double post with this and get it out tomorrow since it's not so long as this one and it finally sets where the main gang is and what the politics are starting to look like.


	5. Sebastian's Plea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Leon and Carver are rubbing elbows with Aveline in the Keep, Rae and Bethany happen to stumble onto the last surviving Vael making a hasty escape.

One look at me and people move out of my way as I pass, their faces twisted in fear, revulsion, disgust, it doesn't matter; as long as they don't get in my way, there won't be any problems.

  
"What do we have planned next?" Time is of the essence and the others have long since gotten used to how harsh I talk.

Bethany doesn't miss a beat, "Gamlen's been complaining about food again, so we need to get groceries, and we have to...stop by the Chantry as well."

  
"Why?"

  
"I'm lighting a candle for Father."

  
I nod and change directions towards the Chantry rather than the bazaar like I'd originally meant to. I don't give a whit about the Chantry, but I'm not going to keep Bethany from her prayers either. Although..."Bethy, I thought you didn't believe in the Maker?"

  
She huffs, "Y'know, I don't have to explain myself to you."

  
I shrug, inwardly pleased that she's growing a bit of a backbone. "That's fair. I was simply wondering--"

  
"Sebastian!" That old crone of a Grand Cleric's voice interrupts my train of thought and Bethany's eyes dart over to the source as she pulls me out of the middle of the walkway. "Stop this madness!"

  
A young man with bronze-white-gold armor and sea-blue eyes gives her a passing glance as he continues to post his request. Bethany gasps and grabs my hand, her other hand going up to fiddle with the clasps on her hood. The most noticeable thing about his is his dark skin, not so dissimilar to our own, and the giant shiny face of a woman over his groin.

  
"The Chantry cannot condone murder, Sebastian."

  
His voice is thick with a brogue accent I don't recognize, but I can clearly tell he's not from Kirkwall. Bethany grips my hand tighter.  
"It is my right, my duty, to show these assassins there is nowhere in the Free Marches for them to hide!"

  
He stalks off, his point apparently made and while his back is turned the old crone rips the request off the wall declaring, "This is murder!"

  
What utter crock. Before I can even think anything else, the man Sebastian whirls back bow in hand and shoots an arrow into the paper, pinning into the Chanters' board.  
"No." Sebastian refutes, "What happened to my family was murder."

  
With that, he leaves the Chantry square. Grand Crone Elthina tries to tear down the request, but I can tell from the subtle pressure of Bethany's force magic keeping it held in place. After a few seconds of looking like an even bigger dumbass than normal, she huffs and stomps up the stairs to the Chantry.

  
Once the large doors close, Bethy drags me towards the board by our connected hands and snatches the request off the board, matching the ferocity of the chanter's evil eye until she looked away, mumbling that chant to herself under breath.

  
Bethany lets go of my hand to show my the request. One large mercenary company, the Flint Company, had killed the Vael family and was going to make an attempt on a survivor. Bethany taps the parchment, "I bet Sapphire knows all about these Flint Mercenaries and we were going to be visiting the Wounded Coast tonight, anyways right? Why not put this on the top of the list?"

  
She wants to make this assignment a priority? "A mercenary company this large probably has more than one group in waiting. The docks, the Wounded Coast, and Sundermont are most likely going to have people there and if we don't get rid of all the mercenaries at once, we might miss a survivor."

  
Her brows furrow as she scowls, "If we don't take this job, an innocent person could be assassinated! Are you really telling me you're willing to sit by and let that happen?"  
That's...true. If I were in the same position, I'd be terrified and think that everyone was out to kill me. Constant paranoia without a living soul in the world to hold for comfort, only the Fade and the greedy denizens within. I sigh and nod, "Fine, but I have a condition for this."

  
She tries to hide her visible excitement, her green eyes lighting up as she clutches the request to her chest, starstruck. "What conditions are we talking here?"

  
Nice to know she still has her wits about her. "I want you to be in charge of this case, including after-investigation and protection planning."

  
She fidgets in place, looking even more excited, "So what're the restrictions?"

  
"You have only a week." I cross my arms and nod subtly to the chanter singing loudly as if to keep us from talking with each other. "And you aren't to reveal any trade secrets."

  
No telling him about magic. She knows what I mean. Her shoulders droop only a second before she straightens, shifting her greatsword strap on her back for easier reach. "Understood."

  
"Alright then. Once we get to the hovel, I expect a rough outline of what you plan to have us do."

  
She grins, "That's not too bad, I bet I can get the others up to speed once we get there, but I need you to loan me some more drawing parchment..."

  
I nod and start walking, mentally adding to the list to buy painting materials and more paper for her. Bethany is quick to follow behind, tucking the request into one of her pouches. "Come." I say, "We have much to get done before the sun sets."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I've been able to kinda show how the Hawkes interact with each other, I finally get a chance to show how they interact at home together outside of prying eyes. As promised, this is going to be a double post with the next chapter, and it's going to be in Carver's PoV.


	6. From the Outside Looking In...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Leandra and Gamlen keep fighting, the Hawke kids try to flee the rising tension and barbed words for a walk and end up strategizing any way they can get out of this sticky situation without any dead bodies or broken bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carver POV for this chapter, as they talk over feelings towards the family name. I was trying to keep from using as little in-game dialogue as possible so it didn't really feel so much like a rehash of events that's already there.

"My children have been in servitude-servitude-for a year!" Andraste save me, they're starting it again. "They should be nobility!"

  
"If wishes were poppy," Gamlen retorts, "We'd all be dreaming."

"You mean this is real?" Sapphire jokes. "No wonder I can't wake up."

  
I really hope they're joking. Bad stuff happens when they can't tell if they're dreaming or not.

  
"This is the way things are, Mother." Leon says gently, "Gamlen can't change it now."

  
"Things don't have to be like this either, Leon," Bethany replies. "But if we just accept things without question, we'll never get anywhere!"

  
Sure, but ask too many questions and people think you might be a liability, people think they have the right to kill you for that. I'd rather be alive and ignorant than dead and have all the answers in Thedas.

  
"If I could just see the will-" Mother starts.

  
"Not this again!" Gamlen snaps, "I don't have the bloody thing and it's long out of my hands!"

  
"'_Out of your hands_', huh?" Rae steps closer to him and he starts to cower, nearly backing into the fireplace. "Exactly what do you mean by that?"

  
"It's gone! The bloody thing is in the vault, and that's long since out of my hands."

  
I want to spit at him in disgust, but that would take too much energy. Plus, I'm hungry and don't feel like working to get enough spit to spit.  
"What daft bastard leaves their parents will behind?"

  
"It was old news! You think I've been sitting here for 25 years waiting for Leandra to slink back?"

  
"Slink back? Uncle, you do realize," Bethany snarls at him, fire crackling at her fingers, "We were being chased by out of the country were literal blight-spawn. It doesn't even really give you time to charter a proper ship."

  
He scoffs, "What, the blights been going on for the last decade and no one heard about it?" I hear Leon snort into his bowl as Rae gives her sharp, calculated reply. "It just happened to be _darkspawn_ this time. Templars make it damn near impossible to charter a ship, I'm certain you're aware of this."

  
Gamlen waffles for a reply amidst the sounds of clattering feet and spoons clinking against wooden bowls. "Look, I get the templars are always watching, but you didn't even come home for the funeral!"

  
"The twins were a week old! And Sapphire and Leon had health complications before we could even get properly settled." Mother's face is proper, head held high even as tears gather. "Between running for our lives, keeping the babies alive after their accident, and trying to put food on the table, it was impossible to charter a ship."

  
"This wouldn't have happened," Gamlen stormed pacing around Snuffles eating her dinner, "If you hadn't gone and gotten pregnant with two extra sets of twins!"  
Mother's eyes widen, "Gamlen! How could you say that!"

  
"You ran off with that damned Ferelden elven apostate pregnant and came back with four extra kids! Four!" He points severely at Sapphire and Leon, "And these two look like the spitting image of him!"

  
"I know I'm beautiful," Leon amends primly, "But there's no need to talk so negatively about it."

  
Gamlen scoffs, his furious pacing getting worse. Bethany gets up and heads over to the sink as Gamlen starts ranting. "Your mother was supposed to marry the Comte de Launcet and went off and married an elven apostate instead! She didn't even try to get rid of him once she gave birth to the baby!"

  
"You mean me, Gamlen." Rae sets her spoon down, head held high even as she doesn't bother looking him straight in the eyes, "Frankly, I'm glad I haven't had the 'pleasure' of meeting you until now. If you were as repulsive back then as you are now, it's no wonder you managed to piss away the entire family fortune."

  
"Rae Amell Hawke! That's enough!" I stare into my stew. I hate it when they get like this.

  
"Mother's nobility, so we're nobility." Rae asserts. "Just because you don't have any sort of pride in yourself and fucked up the name, doesn't mean you can put us on your level."

  
She doesn't have to shout to make her point, even as Gamlen and Mother protest and yell, and her words hit the mark as they both slowly fall silent.

  
I stand while the tension grows thicker, trying to ignore Gamlen's pointed digs at us while he scowled into his stew. Leon, Bethany and I all retreated to the sink as Gamlen tries to get a rise out of Rae again.

  
Bethany grabs my hand as Gamlen starts yelling again. "Even if you weren't apostates, have you ever seen an elf in court?!"

  
"Of course." Sapphire fires back, "In fact, there are more elves in the Keep than all of the nobility."

  
"How many of them weren't servants?" Gamlen sneers.

  
Sapphire can't seem to continue the argument, caving under the accusation. I look away, feeling my hands twitch with guilt. It's easy to filter out all the yelling and fighting and noise when I just. Think of somewhere else, anywhere else I'd rather be than here.

  
It doesn't work.

  
"Your mother was supposed to come home with one child and your father as a concubine. Then we would've neem able to hide any other births she had. But no!" Gamlen spat "You went and married him! Then you come back 25 years later trying to reclaim a dead family name!"

"It's not dead." Sapphire retorts, and I wish they would learn to know when to keep their mouth shut. "We're here after all."

  
"Yes, now the Amell name to has been dragged out of the ashes to be disgraced even further!"

  
Wooden bowls smash together and Leon flinches as Bethany stares resolutely at the wall, "Carver, Leon, can you come with me for a second?"

  
Leon taps us both on the shoulder and starts to head for the door. Bethany knows that I'll come with them either way. Sapphire and Snuffles bound up excitedly to the door as well, "Mind if we come too?"

  
I walk out the door as Bethany gives them a small, sad smile and ruffles their thick hair, letting the door close behind me. Leon is waiting for me on the stairs, polishing his knife methodically. "Carver..." He looks up, "I hate being here."

  
I chuckle and shove down his hood to noogie him, grinning at his protests, "We'll get out of here sooner or later."

  
"Hopefully sooner." I look up as Bethany separates us, Snuffles in tow, Sapphire noticeably not.

  
Leon voices it before I get to, "Where's Sapphire?"

  
She gives us a wan smile and walks down the steps, giving us little choice but to hurry after her. "I don't want them to hear this. Besides, they're doing lessons with Rae tonight."

  
My arms and back aches in sympathy for them, Rae's not going to go easy on them. She never goes easy on us, but she's far worse to any that try to hurt us, so it's a bit of a tradeoff. "What kind of training is it?"

  
Leon rubs his shoulder as we push through the crowds after Bethany, "They said that were going over healing and the living body."

  
Bethany stops to scratch at her boot-covered calf. I doubt there's any scars, marks, or bruises but I know the feeling of phantom pain that you can't fix or scratch, no matter how hard your fingernails dig into the skin, there's never and marks and the pain never leaves. It's times like these I don't envy the others magic, the extra training alone is one thing I'd never want to deal with, let along all the other complications.

  
Bethany slows up once we get to the market, merchants crying out and people moving in and out of the square while we linger in an alleyway with other refugees trying to escape the muggy, sweaty, city heat. No one looks up as we come through and huddle in an alcove, Snuffle chasing her tail.

  
Leon, always the worrywart, starts checking our belts for anything missing, while Bethany nervously twirls her staff about. once she manages to get the worst of the nervous jitters out, she starts talking, rushed and low. "Did you know? Gamlen's been talking about disinheriting us."

My fists clench and Leon's head shoots up from his check, panicked. "He can't do that!" Rubs his shoulders and elbow through his linen shirt worriedly, "Can he?"

  
Bethany shakes her head, "I don't think so. So long as he doesn't have physical proof or ownership of a residence, Gamlen's just blowing smoke out his ass again."

  
Those are very specific terms. Can't people fake wills and proof of documentation if they know a card-sharp? I meet Bethany's eyes and she exchanges her staff for a greatsword as she swings it around with ease to relieve the ice forming along her wrists. So, she had the same thought as I did, huh.

  
"But so long as we don't have the will or know who bought the estate..."

  
"Don't worry about that." I detangle Leon's frantic fingers from his white curls, "Uncle's a chatty drunk."

  
Bethany stops swinging her greatsword long enough for the ice around her wrists to shatter from electric shock. "You know something?"

  
"Well..." I wanted to be in the spotlight, but their hopeful eyes looking to me for answers just makes me uncomfortable. "I don't know anything right now, but I know a way to get information out of him quick."

  
Leon mumbles under his breath something I can't catch as his fingers find their way back into his curls, trembling ever so slightly. Snuffles chuffs and rubs against him, stopping his chattering teeth and terrified hands, as they fly down to catch all 300 hundred pounds of heavy mabari.

  
Bethany straps her greatsword in place, watching Leon and Snuffles rough-house, next to her polearm of a staff. "We need to plan how to get in the estate too, but I think I know a way."

  
I quirk a brow, "Sapphire?"

She shakes her head, "I don't want them to know about this just yet, especially since Mother and Father's rules still apply until they're no longer an apprentice."

  
"So we're waiting to get the will?"

  
"No, we have to be fast." Bethany's face darkens, her green eyes sparkling in anger, "Gamlen's been sneaking into our rooms at night. So far, we've been vigilant and he only went into our things, but I don't know what he'll do the longer we stay in that hovel."

  
My hand twitches for my sword, "We could set Uncle straight."

  
She huffs. "Sure, right before he gets a fat sack of gold for turning us in."

  
Leon shuffles, having dealt with Snuffles and hearing the conversation. "There has to be some other options, right? That Varric guy wanted us to invest in the expedition..."

  
I wouldn't mind tearing into the blighters all day long, but their blood... I wouldn't want to get sick, not like Aveline's templar did. "It's not too bad of an idea." I offer but I know Rae isn't going to be against it. "Dwarves know something about keeping from getting sick from the 'spawn's blight-blood right? I mean, the Hero of Ferelden is dwarven after all."

  
"If you're willing to throw out 50 sovereigns from the family funds, you'll have to go through Mother or Rae. They'll never hand over what little trust fund we have left!"  
Leon shrugs, "You could just as Sapphire." A pause. "Or _me_."

  
What?

  
"What?"

  
Oh, same Beth.

  
"Wh-you have 50 sovereigns lying around?"

  
"Well, no, but-"

  
Bethany lightly smacks his arm, "You aren't with Athenril anymore, you don't have to break the law anymore."

  
"The law sucks anyways." I chuff, "Especially Kirkwall laws."

  
"It's like they wrote them just to be broken." Leon agrees.

  
"Boys!"

  
"Yes?" Leon and I answer simultaneously. Leon tries (and fails) to stifle his giggles.

  
"Listen," Bethany asserts, "Right now, we have to focus on getting the will and a way into the estate."

  
I don't have to ask what Beth's methods to getting the key will be, but her hair is tied up tightly by a ribbon right now, so she must have some sort of plan.  
"So the first order of business is..." She waits until Leon smacks his leg in impatience for her to continue. "Telling Rae and Sapphire." She points at us. "That's going to be your job."

  
I groan over Leon's half-hearted protests. He loves to watch the training, especially when he gets to throw bombs as part of agility practice. If I interrupt, Rae will surely want to test me again tonight, and even if she loses, I'll still have to do drills with them.

  
I should hang back, head over to the Rose-

  
Bethany smacks my shoulder. It doesn't hurt but it is annoying. "What'd you hit me for?"

  
"We're going back to the hovel."

  
"_Now_?"

  
"Yup. C'mon, it's time to put the plan in action, let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part is in Bethany's POV, the follow up to the twins' planning on how to get the will and such. Also, a little glimpse into their home life when they aren't fighting or arguing.


	7. Remorse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A follow up to the previous chapter, Bethany and Carver discuss their plans and what they've learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, as I was transcribing this and writing the other chapters, I realized that putting it in this POV and at this time means I'm cutting out quite a few other chapters, like the first time everyone fights together and them meeting Anders, but I also had a few other chapters that didn't line up too. So. I dunno.  
Also, a note since this is going to be referenced in the later chapters, but I didn't know how to explicitly say their height in the actual setting bc I wasn't sure if they use meters, inches, or cm or if any of that even exists in Thedas, so I'm just gonna put the heights here, both in inches and cm for accessibility.  
Rae is 5'10 (~181.356 cm), Bethany is 5'9 (~176.78 cm), Carver is 6'0 (~185.42), Leon is 5'' (152.4), and Sapphire is 5'1 (~154.94)  
Sapphire and Leon are very short, for reasons explained in the story later on, but I realized thatI described both Sapphire and Leon as runty compared to the others, but never stated how tall anyone was.

Sapphire and Leon are with Mother as she does their hair, Rae's on a walk with Snuffles (so they'll probably end up fighting someone...) and Carver is-

"Y'know, the pie is actually edible this time 'round."

-is right beside me, his blade resting in his lap as he whet it. My own crimson breastplate needs to be cleaned as well, but it's too cold to take it off. At least Gamlen's out. If I do decide to wear something else, I don't have to worry about Gamlen leering at me in my plain shirt. 

My own slice of pie, baked courtesy of Sapphire, sits on it's plate, a fork shoved into the crust. Today's flavor is blueberry, so why is it blue _and_ green? 

"If I eat this, will you be reading off my epithets?"

Carver snorts, dry crust breaking against his chin, "D-don't! I can't keep a straight face!"

I quirk a brow, " So...it's not good then?"

He winces, but tries to cover it up, "Well, I mean, the blueberry filling is pretty tasty, but..." He lets out a large sigh, "I think I chipped a tooth when I took a bite."

Andraste and Creators above, I really don't want to eat it now. The fork holds the piece of pie easily enough and when I taste it, it's sweet enough-_I'm sitting in family living room again, back in Ferelden, Mother does Rae's hair as Sapphire looks up at me expectantly while Leon squeaks in the background as Carver catches him in a chokehold and Father laughs_-I...I...did Sapphire put magic in this?

I look down and wipe away a stray tear to see that suddenly, my breastplate is entirely clean, free of any stains or dirt I hadn't managed to brush off earlier, though the scuffs in the metal and leather remain.

I laugh inwardly, just barely noticing Carver happily eating his own slice, sans the crust, of course, his greatsword shining a faint unnatural blue as he holds it. 

"Hey, Carver, do you really like the pie that much?"

He shrugs, "The fillings good." He grins, wiping his face, "Honestly, it's nice to be reminded you lot aren't perfect at everything, just because you have magic."

"Care to explain that remark?" My eyes narrow and he looks cheekier now.

"Nope."

Moving the pie aside, I huff, "Whatever, so what'd you find out from Gamlen?"

His grin sours and he looks away, a bit disturbed, "I found out a lot of things about 'dear old Uncle' and think none of us, save for Mother, should feel safe living under his roof."

"That's something I already knew. Rae found him sneaking into our rooms one night and has been rotating us on night watches in case he tries to do it again. She thinks that he was just after the money but I don't...don't trust him around me or any of us unless we're wearing at least three layers of clothing and some armor." Dirty doesn't even begin to describe how it feels when he leers like the other men on the street, but if I break his neck, there won't be anywhere for us to live. 

"Also, the estate was lost to slavers. Gamlen's a shit liar and that translates over to his gambling ability too. Couldn't keep his nerve in a round of dice and ended up handing over the estate to settle the debt."

I bite my lip, forcing the frost at my fingers to recede. I want to rant about what a slimy sack of shit he is, but now isn't the time, he can come back any moment after all. How did we even end up related to him?

I reach into my pocket and produce a key with an odd design for the handle, "Mother gave me her key the other night, told me that it does to the Amell estate basement."

"Why's it look like that?"

"Apparently, it's supposed to be the shape of the Amell crest." I shrug, "It's pretty old and dumpy though, it should still work well enough on the door."

"You already checked."

I nod. "Remember when we had to meet that mage earlier? Back in Darktown?"

He shivers, "Yeah, I remember. Anders, right? Something's off about him..."

"Yeah..." I want to confide in him that Leon's taken a shine to him, he was going on and on about how cute he was when they talked earlier, but he and Tomwise just broke up not too long ago. I won't be the one to cockblock while he's on the rebound. "I had Leon try out the key since he was the last one out of Darktown. It works!" 

He shrugs, "Even so, Rae and I have been hunting slavers recently-since the city guard refuses to-" Carver mumbles bitterly, more to himself than to me, "And there's a lot of them in Kirkwall. Not just in Darktown. If we start warring with the slavers, it's going to mean offending a lot of the upper crust snobs around Hightown."

My stomach tightens, I'm glad I didn't eat the rest of the pie earlier; I knew that something foul was in the air of Hightown, but slavery...? "Well then," I say pushing down my disgust, "That just means we should start clearing out the dens that target the most vulnerable people." 

"And I suppose a base in Darktown would be make keeping track of them that much easier." 

I elbow him, "And once you, Rae, and Sapphire come back from the deep roads, the base in Hightown will be official!" I grin, "It takes care of all the major issues!"

He nods slowly, looking away, "Sure, I suppose. Then we'll be the same snobs that we used to laugh at..."

He's still looking away and he's not polishing his greatsword either, he just stares into space blankly. "...is this all worth it? Nobility? I mean, the family name obviously didn't mean all that much if it's a base for slavers. Is that what we're reclaiming?"

"No."

He looks at me, "No?" 

"Think of it like this, people who had our last name did great things, recently those things have been forgotten." I tap my forehead, "So that's why it's up to us to reinvent it!"

"Is it really worth all the trouble though? It seems all like a bunch of smoke and mirrors to me."

He doesn't care about the Amell name and frankly, I don't give a rats ass about it. The Amell name will guarantee us safety, relative freedom, normality...but that's not on the line for Carver, is it? Perhaps I should frame things in a way he might care about.

"You know, since Gamlen has control of the Amell name and we don't have any proof to challenge his words of the head of the house, he can effectively dissolve the Hawke family name as well."

Carver looks up, green eyes wide and startled, "He can't do that!" Trails off unsure, "...can he?"

"So long as Gamlen is the head of the family, Carver, and we don't have any proof to challenge his claims. He can do whatever the hell he wants." I run a hand through my mass of curl, then tugging out my fingers when they inevitably get tangled. "As it stands, you can hate the Amell name all you want, but if you don't do anything, then the shitty Amell name will claim you."

"I'm...I'm a Hawke. Not an Amell." His braids are shaking around his shoulders as he says it. "Just because Gamlen says something, doesn't mean shit. I was born a Hawke and I'll die a Hawke."

My eyes narrow, "Carver, he can have the 'Hawke' name vilified in the records of Hightown and struck out of the records if we don't do something."

A tense pause and I twirl a curl around my finger, Carver suddenly stands, strapping his greatsword into his harness. "I'll tell Rae of our plans so she can fit it in between jobs." 

I stand as well, securing both my staff and sword in place. "I'll handle the twins. Oh and..." I drum my fingers against my hip, "If you're going to visit Faith tomorrow night, I have a purse with coin and a few gift ideas."

He chuckles, brushing his thick braids behind his ears and shoulder, "Oh, thank! Just...keep that between you and me, alright? Leon has a big mouth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm a bit behind my transcribing, I just wanted to update that I'm going to try and keep this story on a schedule so that way I'm not just posting once every blue moon or whatever. I'm going to start posting Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, since I'm dedicating those particular days to transcribing the things I have already written down.


	8. Bubbling Under the Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is all Leon POV for this chapter! Includes the ending of his relationship with Tomwise and going into Lirene's shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the first part of this chapter is titled "Deft Hands" because it's Leon's breakup and the other chapter is titled "Brokering a Partnership", which takes place right after they've met up with Varric to discuss their initial strategy.

**Deft Hands**

I hold Tomwise close, bodies hot from the little space between us in this uncomfortable cot. Soon, I'll have to wake up and this will all be over. Back to casual professional and friendly chatter, back to forgetting our nights in this too-small cot. 

Soon, he'll just be another lover I have to leave behind.

His breath fans over my mouth, only warning before our lips meet. It's chaste, I keep my eyes closed and rub along his shoulders to ease the tension. When we part, tears fleck at my eyes at my lashes and his sympathetic eyes gaze into mine. I move my hand to his jaw, grazing my thumb along the stubble of his chin. "Tomwise..."

His forehead meets mines and I no longer hold his gaze, "We...should get up, Leon." 

My breath hitches and I drop kisses onto his bristled cheeks, preparing myself for the absence of his warmth. I take only a second to heave myself from the cot, trying not to look at him as I gather my clothes, trying to his yearning eyes watching me.

I'm having trouble tying my belt around my pouches, when he takes my hands and ties the buckles for me, as our fingers interlock. There's a sudden weight in one of my pouches as he pulls away. He doesn't meet my eyes, replying. "Keep safe, Leon. I'd hate to lose your company and friendship."

I want to turn back, hold him in my arms, but it's better for us both this way. Safer.

I make sure to lock up his recipes as I leave, fingerprints all over the rusted thing. The would-be thieves didn't take anything, the old lock holding secure, but I dust off the grime and dust as best as I can before moving on.

**Brokering a Partnership**

Varric talks. A lot. Also, his plans to meet this warden are pretty shaky at best and I don't want to end up fighting a warden at worst. But it's something, and between Sapphire's prettied up words and Varric's schmoozing, we've somehow ended up in Lirene's shop.

I've been here, quick a few times to sell healing potions the girls had crafted for them, as well as coin in the donation box. I want to give more, especially if we're going to be asking for favors, but the family funds we have are kept locked up tight. Used for when we have to bribe templars and guards to leave us be. I bet it looks pretty empty by now, with all the enemies we've made.

I slip a few silvers into the box and gently move through the crowd to Rae's side.

"...only Ferelden Grey Warden I've heard of is sitting on the throne, fat lot they care about us up here." She looks up, as if to acknowledge me and continues, "We're out of the blight's path now. Why would you need a warden?"

I flash her a smile and touch Rae's elbow, so she knows I want to speak. "I heard that he was a handsome fellow, wanted to see it for myself."

She huffs out a startled. laugh, "As it is...he's not bad looking, never seen him smile, but Maker his eyes..."

I lean on the counter, grinning, "What color are his eyes, Lirene? I've recently become single and I'd love to hear all about this handsome grey warden."

I hear Carver groan and Rae huffs and straight up shoves Bethany in her place as she stalks outside.

Right. Stay focused. I sigh and turn to Lirene who's (badly) stifling her giggles, "Right, as you can see, my sister doesn't appreciate when I veer from the conversation. So, er, do you know where I can find a handsome grey warden? To heal my wounded ego, you understand."

She sighs, mirth bleeding from her eyes as she grows more defensive, "I supposed it isn't my secret to keep. Anders certainly has been free enough with his services." She sighs again and looks away, "Look for the lit lantern in Darktown, if you have need enough, Anders will be within."

Cryptic. But anything to do with magic usually is. If the healer's really good looking, then this might actually be worth the trip.

Rae stands outside, glaring into a group of irritated people who had followed us out of the shop. Apparently, we attract attention where ever we go.

"'ey! We heard you in there asking about the healer." The leader steps up and stomps his foot, pointing at the ground, "And it ain't going to happen to him!"

I feel Carver bristle, but for once, I manage to speak up first. "I'm as Ferelden as you! I promise I won't harm your healer!"

"What?" The leader backs up a step, taken aback. "You're Ferelden? Didn't know lots of elves fled the Blight too."

"Hmph, if you're so worried about your healer," Carver bites out, "Don't pick fights with other Fereldens while the templars are hunting us all!"

"Sorry about the misunderstanding." The leader starts back-tracking and none of the people that he brought with him look like their spoiling for a fight anymore. Crisis averted? "Between your ears and clothes, I figured you lot for Kirkwallers." He nods at us. "Maker bless the rule of our queens Cece and Anora." 

I let myself relax once I can't see hair or hide of them once they disappear into Lirene's shop. A heavy hand claps me on my back and the air rushes out of my lungs. 

"Y'know, I was upset that you were looking for a booty call on mission, but clearly I misjudged the situation." Rae nods and finishes with, "I am sorry and I will try not to jump to conclusions in the future." 

It's times like these, I have no idea to take her words as a genuine compliment in her own stilted way, or if she's subtly insulting me. No, no, Rae isn't gentle in her criticisms, this must be a compliment.

Not a very good one. I'm not taking it.

Bethany pulls Carver and I along as she spots a pretty necklace. It's not that nice, but the merchant has a number of nice rings. An elven woman in a vibrant green and silver dress, with dark hair and bright green eyes, her name is Dera. I've seen her, not here, _not now, not yet (?)_ and her face is lined with wrinkles but I know that I've met this woman-or will meet again in the future, but this is the first time I've ever laid eyes on her.

Suddenly, my vision goes dark and my ears itch, hands on my shoulders. What's happening? Did I do it again? I feel someone sitting me down. What's happening? Did I do it again? Soothing voices surround me, in all different tones and pitches, being just somewhat drowned out by the sharp whistle of lies being told.

My head pounds, I can't feel my body and air isn't coming in. Why isn't isn't isn't it--

Dust or ashes or sand is shoved into my nose and I shriek. My lungs burn and catch fire, it feels like someone is shoving an ice pick into my skull. Hurts, _hurts, **hurts--!**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a note! In this story, magic isn't a you have it or you don't scenario, just like the whole 'elves can't have elven babies with other races'. There's a number of other things that from canon that I disregard or straight-up change later on because in some areas they don't really expand on it in the games, comics, or other places that I could find on the wiki, so things like nobility or how alienage elves live or how the pirates in the Feliscia (I think that's how it's spelled...) Armada operate are all me spitballing and trying to make it make sense within the limits of canon and what I refuse to acknowledge lol.


	9. Power of a Concerned Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Rae POV chapter and I'm excited for this one, because I finally start to go in on the mechanics of magic. Right now, I'm not making it too over the top because this is the start of the game, but Rae is a spirit healer and has been since the very beginning, so I've been looking forward to getting a chance to write Rae in her element--one that has nothing to do with murder, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the direct continuation of the last chapter, when Leon has an episode in the Lowtown bazaar, from Rae's POV as she heals him and gets him feeling better. I know this is taking a bit to get to the story, but the next chapter should be meeting Anders in Darktown and the birthright quest right after.

Leon's having a episode, I felt the energy around him spike when he stepped into the bazaar, but was too late to stop it. To help him.

No. I can still help him, focus. 

The dwarf, Yhven, had brought a pouch of that Andraste's ashes they were selling and had tried his hand at first aid. Bethany has him stabilized, but as it is, the ashes were corrosive to his lungs and we need to get him somewhere I can properly do my work. I feel a tug on my sleeve and give it only a second's notice.

"Lirene's shop is close, we can heal him there." Sapphire breathes, eyes wide as they hang back as I work. 

A sharp whistle and Snuffles comes over to my side so I can place Leon on her back. Bethany is dealing with Yhven and his wife, so I don't have to worry about them right now. 

Carver pulls Sapphire off of my off of me and I guide Snuffles up the steps to the shop, trying to jostle Leon as little as possible. The shop is still crowded with people but enough of them move out of the way for me to set Leon down proper on a cot in the back room. 

Once his back is fully flat against the cot, I take my gloves and greaves off to check his pulse with my fingertips.

Erratic, fast, and at the rate it's beating, his body might be trying to regulate the blood flow to an open wound somewhere. It would be much easier to heal him with blood magic, tracing the outlines of his nerves and major arteries then mending them with elfroot and magic, but I can't. Not surrounded by a crowd. Another breath, I place my palms on his chest and send out a quick shock of electricity to keep his nerves from fraying, another pulse and another wave of magic to still his major organs from activity long enough for me to work around his ribs to do regenerative construction on the bleeding parts of his internals.

Three more of my own deep breaths, pushing my intent and will to mend his body through my hands, glowing bright with blue energy as his breathing starts to regulate properly, his heart slows to a speed as though he was sleeping. 

Due to the sudden fluctuation of magical energy in his untrained body, he's yet again somehow managed to block out all of his senses to hostile magic. His lungs lining was torn when he inhaled the ashes earlier, I can hear it in the way his breath rattles and how his nose let's out little whistles in lieu of taking in any real air.

His eardrums and blood nostrils are a quick fix, I pull the already existing blood clots to form thicker and to massively patch up the torn parts of tissue. The spirit energy had disconnected his retinas from his eyes, so I put my fingers on his temple and massage the nerves around his eyes until I could feel Compassion's hand on my shoulder, telling me I'd put them back in the right position. With his heart no longer pumping excess blood in an attempt to clot the bleeding tissue, it's easy to tell that the dust, ashes, whatever, had torn away not only the lining at his lungs, but also scraped his vocal chords raw, and scorched most of the taste buds off of his tongue.

I healed his mouth and gums, but left his tongue for the time being, in case his wisdom teeth might still be growing in. His vocal chords were next, I pour the elfroot down his mouth, letting it restore much of his taste buds and using magic to make sure he doesn't choke on it on the way down the hatch.

The small spores in his lungs had been deeply weighed down by the remaining ash and blood that had leaked in. I put my hands over his nose and mouth and channel pure air into my healing magic, letting it fill his body with clean, soothing air.

It took some doing, but the lacerations were soon sealed and all internal bleeding had ceased. Just as I push back my hair, I realize how badly I'm shaking from exertion, how much sweat had soaked through the clothes under my armor like I've been marching in the rain.

Leon is fine for now, probably won't be able to exert himself for a while until I know that his body will be able to handle the stress of his everyday activities. I know that there's eyes on us, but I trust that the others have taken care of it. Sapphire in particular has a way of making people forget about it, after all, almost as good as when they decide to disappear from view as well.

I stand, feel the world spin under my feet and I lean on Snuffles for support. Snuffles (is a good girl) bends down and stays still as I put Leon on her back, stroking his hair. I get back up, only for my knees to give out under me, my head light and everything around me incredibly bright. 

I don't hit the ground. Carver holds me steady, his arms wrapped around my waist on the left, Bethany's holding me close with her arm around my shoulders on the right. 

Sapphire and Varric are nowhere to be seen, but as I pass Lirene on the way out, I realize that there was no more fear and distrust in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Anders! Also, the group's very first test run out on Aveline's mission. The next chapter should be in Leon's POV, then Bethany's during Birthright.


	10. Darktown Healer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon and Anders finally meet, along with the rest of the Hawke family. Leon runs into Tomwise again, but with Aveline pressing down everyone for information, things start getting more tense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever! I'm not saying I didn't have fun writing it tho, it just took a lot longer than what I was expecting it to take after setting up the schedule, but it ended up also being the longest chapter I've written thus far. So, I hope you enjoy what I've made, in rooting through all my videoes for everyone's interactions!

Darktown is just how I expect it to be be; dank, smelly, and unpleasant, exactly like the cot at Gamlen's. Maybe he gets his soap here? No, what am I thinking, Gamlen doesn't clean, he wouldn't know to buy soap different from the type that he washes with.

A nudge from my hand. Shoulder. Arm? Hmm...suddenly he's closer, Carver that is. Pulls me in for a one armed hug. "Are you sure you're alright for a mission? We could go to-"

"Where? Gamlens's hovel? Last I checked, waking up to yourself and your sister vulnerable and with someone on top of you--!"

"I know, I know. Gamlen's hovel isn't safe. That's why we're here." 

"I don't need any other healer than Rae and Bethy. If they can't heal it, then it can't be healed."

"That's not true, others might know something about it-"

"You're felt it too, Carver." He stiffens, but the lift keeps going down, down, down. "The energy. It happened to, I mean, with you too."

He pulls me into a full body hug, I can't tell who's shaking more, me or him. "I did, but not when you did. I was-was with Sapphire and Varric, walking them home and, and Sapphire made a mess, resurrecting some people." 

My heart stills. Sapphire resurrected someone? People? How many? "When?"

"Right after Sergeant Melindra told you about the Carta." 

My heart starts again, then I feel myself break out into a cold sweat. Carta?

"...Was it the group that we dispatched earlier?

His head nods rapidly, so many times his teeth clatter. "Yup, they resurrected them, but they didn't see the templar patrol coming along the corner." He looks at me, eyes wild as the lift keeps going down, down into the chokedamp. "I had to do something. Anything. Couldn't fight them all, too many." And I pulled, Leon. I felt something tear in my head, in my hands, I just wanted to keep the templars from seeing anything. And they, and they..." He starts trembling, "I made us all invisible to them."

I haven't seen Sapphire for hours. How did Carver manage to make the templars look the other way? "How?"

He pulls away, waving his hands, "Made the area look like it was before, y'know with all the corpses and blood. I could feel myself tearing something, but the templars didn't see us and walked right on by."

I blink, feel my mouth pull up into a grin, as I look up at him, "No way. So, does that mean...you're a...?"

He smiles back, but still looks uneasy, "I really might be. But what if...it was just a fluke? A one time thing? What if I can never do it again?"

Well..."Sapphire always says that the only way to make it stronger is to believe in it."

Carver scoffs, "Sapphire can piss lightning and vomits gems, what do they know about losing magic?"

Not untrue, but still. "Look, either way you might have...it. So, for now, let's just see how far it goes."

"What, like, in a fight? I've already been able to heal during fights."

I pause, "Really? You've been able to heal?"

He shrugs, "I thought it was just a family thing. I mean," he looks kinda sheepish, "You can heal too right?"

A quick sigh of breath punches out between my teeth, "I can heal, and do that little bolt-y thing Rae and Bethany shoot all the time, but they're pretty weak."

He scratches his chin, "Dad did always say that 'magic comes in many forms', right? I mean, maybe we're just late bloomers like Rae was saying?"

"Probably, but then does that mean it doesn't matter? I mean, we don't even know the basics of magic..."

"That Amell base is down here, somewhere, remember? Once we meet up with the others, we'll have some room to try and test things out."

I suck in my teeth, "I dunno, Aveline's tagging along for that part of the trip..."

"She can screw off anyways, I don't need to hear her opinion."

A disgruntled scoffs makes whip my head. When did the lift stop moving? How long has Aveline been there? "And I take time out of my busy schedule to help you and this is how you talk about me, Carver?"

Carver steps back and I hide behind him, still feeling a bit spooked by Aveline's sudden appearance. "Right, because you're so busy, with all those dead patrols and empty streets."

Not that Aveline had helped in clearing them. Getting rid of the various gangs in Kirkwall was back-breaking work that I've never seen a guard do. Including Aveline.

Carver stomps out and I cling to his elbow as Aveline makes another noise of disgust. Rae and Bethany are cleaning off a fresh layer of blood and there's no overt signs of Sapphire yet; after all, Varric isn't anywhere near here. His loud mouth gives him away on stealth outings, or at least it has on the one I accompanied him on. 

I hesitate, knowing that Tomwise's stall is close, fighting the urge to greet him too overly familiarly. Before I could walk over, Aveline decided she had something to say. 

"I don't like some of the people you've been associating with, Carver." 

He doesn't pay her much mind, patting my back, "Talk to Rae. She's the one in charge."

Aveline crowds us and I withdraw closer to Carver, glad his large frame is big enough to hide me from the battering ram that is Aveline. "Maybe, but I know you get around." She looks at me, just for a second, then straightens up. "This city is full of people dead set on ending badly. I don't want you to end up the same way." She pauses, then presses on, "And I don't want you setting a bad example either. Think of who you'll affect!"

Carver sneers, crossing his arms, and replies, "I'm not good enough to be part of your guard, but you want to order me around like I'm your personal jester! How about you stop spying on my life and passing judgement, when you are actively making it harder for me to get ahead!"

"I've never crossed any member of the Amell or Hawke family." Aveline says neutrally, "But I also know of quite a few crimes you've commited, Carver. Perhaps you should watch your tone around me."

Carver's hands ball into fists and I'm pulled off him, got ready to fight myself, but Bethany drags me over to Tomwise's stall by the back of the neck like a mabari pup. When she sets me back on the ground, I look over to see that Rae is striding over to deal with Carver and Aveline. Carver doesn't deserve to be punished, but at least I know things are certainly not going to be getting any worse while she's around. 

Bethany nudges me over to the area where we pick up our poisons, waiting until Tomwise is occupied to start talking, "So, are you ready to talk to him yet?"

I look at him and my breath stalls, the tips of my ears burning from the flush on my face. I stroke the blue hawk and bat tattoos on my left cheek. Bit my lip, "N-not yet, just give me a moment to think."

Carver grumbles, no worse for wear and wanders over back to my side, running a hand through my hair. Feeling a little more confident with my siblings at my side, I walked up to the stall.

"Tomwise? Is that you?"

An elf with dark hair and pale skin looked up from his desk, his face lighting up with pleasant surprise, "Oh, Leon, it's you. Haven't seen you since that job with Athenril. Been a while."

I grin at him, offering my hand and smiling harder when he clasps it companionably, "That it has! How've you been, Tomwise? Business been good for you lately?"

Tomwise laughs and lets go of my hand, "You know your sisters keep coming to me for grenades and poisons right, with all that I'm getting from them, I've been keeping busy for the last few months. But I heard that they were going into the deep roads, so I suppose it makes sense that they're stockpiling. Please tell me you aren't going to be risking your life looking for plunder like your siblings?"

I shake my head as Bethany steps up closer to join the conversation, "No, Bethy and I are staying behind. We aren't going to be going into the deep roads, but we're still helping with the jobs so we can keep a steady supply of coin and stability for the family."

Bethany shrugs, leaning against me, her dark hair brushing my ear, "Leon and I are the breadwinners of the family, Rae and Carver are the explorers and the hunters. Someone has to stick around in Kirkwall so you all don't forget about us!"

Tomwise looked Bethy up and down, then looks me up and down critically, "The two of you are related? I didn't figure it by the hair, but your coloring is both similar, so I guess it makes sense."

Bethy sighs jovially, her robe tail swishing, "Oh come now, good ser, can't you tell the both of us are related just by how good looking we are?"

Tomwise chuckles, "If I was going by that basis, then yes, I certainly would have to admit the two of you look shockingly alike."

I raise a brow, "This isn't a knock on humans again is it?"

Tomwise's grin is a bit more sharp, "Well, if the two of you were human, then it would be. But you aren't so you don't have to worry your pretty little head about it."

I scoff and roll my eyes while Bethy seems to be getting a kick out of all of this, "Anyways, Tomwise, since I'm here, do you have anything to sell me?"

"Of course!" He leans closer to me over the table, "And since you were such a good customer last time, I'll even give you a discount your sisters aren't getting. I might even discount it a few coppers more if you help me again like you did last time."

I give him a winning smile, "Sure, I'll come back later and we can decide what time we can work out our deal. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great, Leon. See you later."

I pull back and walk away, my heart thundering in my chest, slowing down on the steps as Varric and Aveline start talking and Sapphire appears at my side from the shadows, tucking away bunches and bunches of deeproot in their pouches. They tap my shoulder, their face shadowed by their hood and same white hair as mine, "Did I miss anything?"

I poke her stomach and nod back at Aveline and Varric who are bickering behind us, while Bethany watches on from the top of the stairs where Aveline's cornered Varric. 

"Didn't you want to get more information on Varric?" I motion at them, "Here's your chance."

They bite their lip and edge closer to the two of them. I can hear Aveline's voice cutting over the noise. "Varric, do you do anything?"

Varric sounded irritated and exasperated, "Am I the next stop on your career evaluations? Joy of joys."

Bethany does her best to look disinterested, walking between the two of them and walking down the steps to stand with the rest of us, "Think Aveline's going to come to blows or nah?"

Sapphire grinned, looking a bit more sure and confident in their answer, "Nah, he'll be able to talk her out of it, if it gets that far."

I pat their shoulder, "We'll see, we'll see."

"You watch and you talk, that's it?" Aveline interrogated, crossing her arms, "That hardly seems like any sort of a real job."

He scoffed, "You are dismissing the hallmarks of the utterly ineffectual and incredibly dangerous."

"I have no idea what you mean."

"It means that coins flow when I talk and when I shut up." He pauses for dramatic effect, then continues on, "Like if you were paid to guard or unguard."

The confusion in Aveline's voice was nearly palpable, "I have no idea what you mean."

"Good."

Sapphire snickers and moves from my side and saunters over to Varric, nudging his shoulder with a playful grin. "Sorry Varric, I was getting into trouble. Did I miss anything?"

He smiles then wrapps an arm around Sapphire's waist, talking with them loudly, but somehow only low enough for the two of them to hear.

I don't bother trying to listen in, just following behind Rae and Carver as they search for the Darktown healer. Rae stops in the middle of the street as Sapphire and Varric pop right in front of them, Sapphire looking mischievous to Varrric's startled face. Hah. Bet they used fade step on him. Sapphire tilts their head and takes off running to the east, down a set of stairs, leaving Varric to hustle after them, harriedly.

By the time all of us manage to catch up (and we've left Aveline back to go back on the lift) we find Sapphire standing in front of a closed set of doors, it seems filthy and the only thing that looks anymore special about the doorway is the lit lantern. That in itself isn't all that spectacular, but the thing is that the flame isn't lit by any tinder or wax.

The lantern is lit by magelight. Rae leads the way forward, as usual, and Bethany is on her right, Carver stays on her left and I position myself a few steps behind Carver. Grey Wardens are heroes, for defeating the blight and the archdemon, saving all of Ferelden when all of the country when all the political systems failed through irritation and intimidation alone, or at least, so I've heard. We need to stay alert, focused, and--

Sapphire and Varric just stroll on in. Push past Rae as she watches and waits for the healer to finish his task, they care little for it and just walk forward. My breath catches in my throat, and I resist the urge to shove my fingers in my throat to stop the building scream. What are they doing?! 

What are they doing?!

The warden's eyes flash blue and suddenly his staff is in his head, spirit energy filling the air that makes my stomach lurch. 

Rae keeps us moving as a group, backing Sapphire, as the warden shouts, "I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?"

His voice is deep and boomy, unnatural like when Compassion takes over Rae. Is this man a spirit healer as well then?

"Odd job for a warden," Sapphire quips, because they never know how to shut up, with a grin. Utterly unaffected by the sudden intense pressure of spirits and rage that cloud around the man like a maelstrom. Varric seems tense, even under his duster and Sapphire leans on his shoulder, "I thought they were all about taint and death, not healing and salvation."

I don't know how, but the warden's eyes slide to Sapphire, and for once they have someone's full attention. The hairs on my arm and legs stand up and my shoulders hunch up as more spirit energy gathers around the warden. "Please, serah." I blurt, the words flying from my mouth, "We only came to talk. Not to fight."

The warden's eyes are on me and my heart nearly stops as our eyes lock. My breath stutters as I see a flash of blue from him, as though I was staring at two separate people. Father? "To talk of what?"

I mentally shake myself. This isn't Ferelden, I don't know is he's the same as Father and Rae, and I don't have time for these thoughts! "The deep roads."

The warden puts his staff back into his holster and motions all of us further into the back of his clinic. He turns to us once we're safely out of sight of any prying eyes and crosses his arms, "Did the wardens send you to bring me back?" He doesn't give us a chance to respond before continuing, "I'm not going back. They made me get rid of my cat." 

Sapphire huffs, "They--? You had a cat? In the deep roads?"

"He was a gift! A noble beast." He uncrosses his arms as the corners of his lips lift a bit, "He attacked a genlok once, swatted the bugger on the nose! Drew blood too. Nearly got ripped in half for it, though." He frowns, "I had to give him to a friend in Amarantine. Blighted wardens said he made me 'too soft'."

"If you're not still with the wardens, they why are you still wearing their armor?" Rae interjects, and all cheer that was in the warden's face tightens into a wary mask. "It's dyed black, but that's clearly the warden motifs and symbols."

"What I wear is my business."

Sapphire cuts the tension easily, drawing back their hood to show their face, but purposefully leaving their bangs to cover most of their face. "Hey, nothing wrong with wearing your old uniform. See my outfit?" They gesture to their black and gold-trim tunic, "I've gotta wear this until I'm no longer an apprentice, but for now, there's no shame in it, right?"

The warden stalls, hesitates, then loosens up a bit. "I suppose."

"Wonderful!" Sapphire cheerfully claps their hands together "Though if you don't mind me asking, why leave the grey wardens? I thought they were an honorable order of heroes, defending against the tide of evil?"

The warden scoffs, "Grey Wardens take their rank from anywhere, from the highest of queens to the lowest of men, but that means there's bound to be a few people that muck up the orders' good name."

"Huh," Sapphire mumbles, "If you speak so highly of the wardens, then why aren't you with them?"

"That's not something I'm willing to share with a complete stranger!"

"My apologies for my second," Varric cuts in, "They tend to forget the importance of first introductions."

Sapphire snarks at him, "And I apologize for my stone-head friend. He can say the most rudest things sometimes."

"Yes, yes, and don't mind my airhead of a second, they just say the most foolish things."

"Pssh, all the words that come out of my mouth are gold!"

"Uhm, didn't you come to talk to me? Hello?"

I sigh and step forward, as the two of them keep jibing each other, getting the warden's attention. "I'm Leon. Leon Hawke. Our dwarven companion is Varric Tethras, and my twin is his second." I motion to them, "You'll be able to tell who Sapphire is by the hair. And this," I motion to everyone else, "Is the rest of my family."

Rae takes off her helmet, letting her hair spill down to her pauldrons in long dull gold curls. Bethany pushes back her hood and Carver, begrudgingly, takes off his helm as well.

There's a hint of recognition in the warden's eyes as the other's introduce themselves as well. "I'm Anders. You say you're the Hawkes? I've heard quite a bit about you all."

"Oh?" Sapphire stops squabbling with Varric, "What've you heard? Any good gossip about us?"

Anders huffs a bewildered chuckle, "That you were a mercenary family with a history of violence, smuggling, and apostasy."

"Here I thought the apostasy would be the first thing that gets out," Rae mutters darkly.

"Not so. Most people are terrified of you in particular, Rae, I believe? To be honest, I didn't put much stock in it, but now?" He gives her an overt full body scan with his eyes, causing Rae's brows to furrow in ire. "I can see exactly what type of terror you strike into their hearts." He smirks, "All of their small, attentive, throbbing hearts."

Rae's jaw clicks shut and she takes a loud breath. At first I think she's restraining herself, but then I realize that she's just got her hands locked on the backs of Bethany and Carver's elbows. Both of whom, are looking pretty pissed. 

"I don't know what kind of conclusions you're making." Varric says, and I can't help but notice he's pushed Sapphire behind him, "But I promise you; the skull on Rae's staff isn't just a prop. Nor are any of those little horns on her staff."

Anders' deflates, looking very disappointed, "Here I figured, with all the help I do for the Rose, they'd finally sent those workers too soothe my aches."

"I could sooth your aches." Rae snaps, "Permanently."

"Yikes," Anders drawls. I wonder if he realizes that Rae is using the spines of her dead foes to create the staff grip? People are fucking idiots.

"Hmph," Rae sneers, "We'll find our way to the deep roads without you."

Varric and Sapphire look highly uncomfortable, but Bethany and Carver are right behind Rae as she stomps to the door. Should I follow them?

"W-wait!"

I look back at Anders, who has panic all over his face. He tries to straighten his back, use his considerable height to loom over us, but he quails under Rae's piercing gaze. 

"Listen, I have a map of the deep roads in the area. But there's a price."

Sapphire laughs over the tension, their eyes glowing. "Now that's familiar. I don't mind paying or helping you our, but my services don't include anything to do with children or animals." They smile that same toothy smile, looking like they're ready to produce a knife and cut themselves to seal the deal. I push past them, let Varric corral her back to his side as I take point.

"Give us your maps, and I'll do anything that you ask."

Anders looks at me, his eyebrows raised, "Oh? You don't ask for my terms? What if I asked for the Knight-Commander's head on a pike?"

I hear Carver grunt and stomp his foot twice, the secret signal to reject a contract. I look Anders in the eyes, "Is that what you ask?"

He gives me a curt, harsh grin, "You decide."

"Hmph," Sapphire scoffs, "You couldn't afford our assassination services, stick to a simple favor for a few simple maps. Tell us what you want and we might make a deal."

"I came to Kirkwall to aid a friend. A mage. A prisoner in the wretched gallows." Anders pauses looking a bit pained, "The templars learned of my plans to free him. Help me bring him safely past and you shall have your maps."

Not the hardest job, and it's not like I don't have experience smuggling people away from prying eyes, but if the templars already know if his plans, then we could be walking into a trap.

"You want to make your friend an apostate?" Carver asks.

"That's such a weighted term." Anders replies vehemently. "Yes, Andraste said that magic should serve man, not rule him. But I've yet to find a mage who wants to rule anything."

I hear Rae coughing harshly behind her hand, and between her fake coughs she shouts, "Tevinter! Tevinter!" As if to remind Anders his statement is false.

Anders ignores her, his nose upturned, "It goes against no will of the Maker for mages to live as free as other men."

I nod, "Forcing mages into servitude is not the way to prevent the rise of another Imperium."

As Anders eyebrows raise, I can feel the rays of Bethany and Rae's smiles on my back. It's nice to be the coolest person in the room when you're preaching views that would normally be considered treason.

"That's not usually the response I get." Anders says with a smile. "Perhaps we will work together better than I expected."

I think carefully of what I want to say next, not wanting to shatter the warm and fuzzy feeling of approval from my peers.

"How do you plan to free your friend from the gallows?"

"I'm hoping it won't come to that." I hope I get to see him smile again. "I sent Karl a message to meet me in the chantry tonight. Maker willing, he'll be there, alone."

Sounds like we're walking into an obvious ambush, but Rae's made sure we've been properly prepared for temlars attacks, and Bethany's traded in her staff for a greatsword for the sole purpose for the sole purpose of withstanding the effects of a smite. Anders' staff looks weak, not a blade on it, just a grip and a decorative drake top. Wouldn't do much in a fight with the templars. "Tell me about your friend."

"His name is Karl Thekla." He says the name with authority, as though he's well known, but I've never heard of this mean in my life. I guess Anders and I just have different social circles. "He was sent here from Ferelden, when Kirkwall's circle required more enchanters and new talent. His last letter said that the Knight-Commander was turning the circle into a prison."

What? "Aren't all circles prisons?"

Anders' smile returns, "You know, I think we might get along great, Leon."

I try to keep a straight face, hide all the blushing, but by Carver's scoff I'm not doing so well. Anders doesn't seem to notice it thankfully.

"Mages are locked in their cells, refused appearances at court, made tranquil for the slightest crimes. I told him I would come."

"So, you know I'm on board, what's your plan?"

I hear Sapphire irritatedly mutter my name as Anders' shoulders sag with relief. "I welsome your aid. I have already sent word for Karl to meet me in the chantry tonight." He steps in close, lowering his voice, "Join us there, and we'll ensure no matter who is with him, we all walk away free."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is the Birthright chapter, Bethany's POV and I'm hoping that sooner rather than later I can also add a few images of all the Hawke family's height/faces. But I'm just for now, working on making the chapter and trying to get back on schedule.


	11. Birthright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I finally did it. I managed to type up the entirety of the Birthright quest!!! Alright, this ended up being a beast of a chapter and it's a lot longer than I was expecting and more things happened in this than I was expecting but damn I loved writing this!!

After dragging Leon out of the clinic, we walked over to the Amell basement, Sapphire leading us in their own fluttery fashion. they stop in front of an unassuming door, the way blocked with broken stairs and ladders shoved in the doorway in a way that shouldn't be possible according to all laws of physics. But then again, Sapphire always has had a penchant for breaking every rule, why not that one too?

My nose scrunches at the charged air, heady with electricity and inaudible whispering, Sapphire's doing then. Varric stands aside Sapphire as they wave their hands excitedly, bouncing up and down as their hands glow. "Behold!" Sapphire's hands flash and the stairs repair themselves, the ladders shattered pieces turn into a heavy stone and metal door. 

I look over as Sapphire does a back handspring then lands in a dramatic pose, "Whaddya think?!"

Rae smiles faintly, "That was an excellent use of transmutation, innovative and sensible of you."

Sapphire's smile dims, "But was it cool though?"

"It was great!" Carver answers, keeping their cheer from dampening any further. 

"I thought so! Anyways, are you all ready to head in? There's a lot of basement to cover and lots of slavers to kill."

Varric shoves a notepad into his pocket, I didn't even realize that he'd been writing, and sighs, "Why don't you ever take me anywhere nice?"

Sapphire huffs and runs up the stairs, Varic hurrying to catch up after her; even though Sapphire is only a few inches taller than him, they're going much faster than he is. I step forward with Leon, only to see Rae hesitating, staring somewhere behind us blankly.

She seems to come to when I wave my hand in front of her face. "What?" She snaps, "You better have a good reason for bothering me."

Ok, fine if she's gonna be that way, then she can stew over whatever it is that's eating at her by herself. "What were you staring at?"

"Hm?" Rae doesn't continue, staring behind us intently. Then with a cluck of her tongue, she looks at me, "I have a feeling...we're not alone."

Duh. "We're in Darktown, Rae. Did you forget we're in a public place?"

She scoffs and stomps off, "Whatever, I'll handle it later."

She's so dramatic. I nod over at Leon who's smothering giggles behind his hand. Carver, Sapphire, and Varric are already inside; as Sapphire had said there was a great deal of land in the cellar, all held in isolated cells that had heavy locks picked open. Many of the cells that we passed were covered in blood and burned by lightning, any bolts that had missed were lodged into walls and ceilings, accompanied by a heat so strong, it felt like I was standing on the cement ground of Hightown barefoot in the summer sun.

If they left anyone alive, I don't see them, and Leon's too busy covering his nose to look it appears. Rae's taking flank for once, though it's like she's looking for something, she stops at a bunch of different open doors, but hardly ever enters into the rooms.

By the time we catch up with Carver and the others, the bottom of my shoes are caked in blood and muck. I shouldn't have worn my good shoes today.

"Well, this is where most of the slavers are." Carver says as a way of greeting patting himself down roughly. "Wouldn't be surprised if there are assassins around. Be on your guard."

Carver stays in the middle as Sapphire announces their presence with loud claps of thunder, as they and Varric peel into the shadows, I lose track of them as panicked slavers come out.

Just like we practiced and did before, Carver takes the one on the left, I take the one on the right, Rae raises her shield and runs to the middle. One fireball to get the slaver off their feet, I swing my sword and freeze them solid before kicking them down the last three steps they didn't finish, smiling at the cracking of armor. I jump and slam my sword into the ground, piercing through the stomach of the slaver. They gurgle in pain, unable to move or struggle in their final moments, pinned down by Leon's arrows that fall from above. I raise a firestorm around me, and give no other thoughts to my previous foe that's been burned to ashes.

Someone breaks a grenade nearby and dust rises in my eyes, Carver rushes over to back me on one side, Rae on the other as I furiously scrub the dirt out of my eyes.

I look up, vision blurry as Leon yells, stumbling away from the crate he'd been standing behind. I move along with Rae and Carver to give Leon backup, but it's still hard to see. I hand back as Rae charges and by the time I'm done cleaning my eyes, there's another dead slaver.

It's pretty routine after that; scorched flesh, bodies burnt, coin and any other loot they might have on them stripped, just like when we were working for Meeran.

Sapphire runs out, grinning and covered in blood and conjured rocks for armor, only to be pulled back by Varric, who starts scrubbing at their face with a handkerchief. "Makers balls, Short Hawke, slow it down for a second."

Sapphire huffs and I move on because I already know what they're about to say.

"I'll stop moving when I'm asleep or dead, and not a second before."

I unclench my fists as they run up the stairs, Varric only two steps behind due to the narrowness of the doors. Ozone fills the air as the fight begins anew and I take a deep breath, lingering before I get back into position. Leon's right behind us, in formation like he should be, Carver beside me and Rae leading us. None of us are hurt because we use the same methods over and over again, but Sapphire never did care about getting hurt or dirty.

The battlefield is already set in our favor by the time we all get up the stairs, lightning shocking the assassins from the shadows, shaking and disoriented, the warriors slowed down by bolts that rain from above. Sapphire does a handstand and springs into the center field, cackling and the rock armor around them dancing with streaks of electricity. 

I take the warrior that nearly impales Sapphire, the blade of my greatsword parrying against their giant barbed mace, I look up just in time to dodge an incoming hand. 

A breath in, then release, and an arcane bolt sears off the slaver's weapon arm, Sapphire's twin blades glinting dimly against my spell as they separate torso from legs with a wicked ease. I grin, pirouette, step, and swing my greatsword and cut into Carver's opponent, knocking the slaver off balance as Carver pounds his sword into the opening of the helm and the armor, the slavers head going flying. 

Tch. They stole both of my kills.

Carver's eyes widen and he spins me back-to-back, "Watch the shadows!"

Assassins, huh? With Carver at my back I start a firestorm, feeling the heat intensify as Carver lets out a raging battle cry. Rae shields Leon and casts a paralysis sigil for any that thought to get too close to them. I look over as I hit the crescendo of my spellcasting, arms raised high in the air as I see Varric going flying himself. 

I have the sense of mind not to send a fireball crashing down on him, as he's been plunged right into the middle of it, but I can't do anything to stop his messy fall and wince in sympathy. He's going to feel it later, even with healing.

"I've got you!"

WHAT?

Sapphire catches him and Varric releases another quiver of bolts into the air, charged with electricity and Sapphire's own blood as the assassin slaver appears behind them, the tip of their blade poking out from the front of Sapphire's chest.

No! I cast a spell of healing, trying to fix the hole in their chest, but the slaver just. Just pulls out the blade from the quickly knitting flesh and makes the hole even bigger. I can't heal this, I can't heal that, but I can, I think I can fix one problem. 

"Fire and ice, obey me!" I pull and pull, and it stings because I haven't practiced this enough, making mana from nothing, I can feel the strain on my hands and my lungs burn as the air inside me freezes, but I'm not the one to fall, the slaver is encased in ice and my aim is true sending the iced man into flames. Carver steadies me, makes sure I'm steady on my feet and charges forward, cutting the assassin into chunks with a series of slashes. 

Varric frantically grabs Sapphire and runs over to Rae and Leon, who have a pile of bodies at their feet, nose stinging from the remains of Leon's grenades. I hobble over, making sure to keep a force field around myself, just in case there's another assassin hiding in the shadows. Rae keeps her hands steady, her sigil of paralysis fading as she slams a sigil of repulsion down to replace it. By the time I let down my shield and get over to the others, Rae's already started stomping from corner to corner. I hear her gasp and she lowers her shield to throw a man out from the shadows. Wait. Anders?

Leon's labored panting makes it hard to concentrate, Varric desperately pouring a health poultice onto their chest is futile and they aren't waking up any time soon, a blade tries to stick their blade under my arm but a quick mind blast keeps anything from happening and helps me see the battlefield clearer.

The fight is far from over, another ray of ice freezing the slaver solid and one-two-three-four-arcane blast before lopping off the head. Carver scythes through a slaver shield, but I see him falter favoring his left leg. One breath, a heal spell, and I rush over to his side. The slaver's shield is cracked and brittle, but it still keeps my sword from getting a clean hit, Carver's own strikes parrying against the mace. Rae rushes out behind the slaver, accompanied by bolts of spirit energy that couldn't have come from her as she knocked the slaver off center. Taking my chance, I speared my sword into the slavers leg to keep him down and lean back and Carver strikes the clavicle from the body, the spray of blood splashing on Rae's shield.

I don't see any more slavers left but I don't sheathe my sword until Rae gives us the all clear as Anders joins her. "Anders has decided to offer his assistance. We'll need him for the surgery."

Surgery? I feel bile rush into my mouth and I fight to keep from vomiting. I don't know if I can help them do that, my hands are shaking far too much. 

I furiously scrub the aftermath from under my nails, rubbing and rubbing the blood and grit from my face and hands. This isn't the time to panic, this is the time to stay calm and focus. Just focus. 

The air feels crisper as my body starts to recover from the fight, spirit energy flooding the air as two voices echo in my ears. Have they started already? If they have, then I need to ensure, I can't do any healing with unclean hands.

My legs shake as I walk over to Anders and Rae, as Carver and Leon shove Varric into to another room. What horror am I going to see this time? 

Sapphire's heart has been fixed, to some extent, the blood trying to pump to the rest of the body, restrained by Rae's red glow rather than spilling itself all over the ground below. 

The best course of action is, like Father and use to say over and over, and now Rae says over and over, is to be quick, clean, and first on the scene. 

I feel knots tie up my stomach, jaw stiff. It's hard to conceive Sapphire as just a patient, no matter how many times I have to do this. I can't afford to lose my cool if I want them to live after all.

Their right arm is twisted at an unnatural angle and their clavicle is poking out through her chest, barely visible under their apprentice tunic. They look up at me with a red grin, weak and pale, miraculously still awake and say, "Hey Bethy? W-what's up?"

It's times like these I don't know if I want to smack them or scream. Take another deep breath, ignore the irritation, relax my clenched teeth. None of that's going to help me in the surgery. I push aside Varric, who's just crowding Rae and Anders, frantically pouring what looks to be a bomb mixture over their wounds. 

He squawks and starts protesting, so I leave him to Carver and Leon, untangling his hands from their broken fingers. Rae looks at me, I nod, and she prods Anders into pushing Sapphire flat on their back, or as flat as they can due to their broken bones.

I try to ignore Sapphire's keening whimper, but it morphs into hysterical sobbing laughter as I start cutting into their tunic and Rae tears through the bracers that had melted into the skin, and I end up stroking her forehead over and over, humming a low tune. Anders tries to unzip thier robe, but Sapphire hacks out a cough, blood and spittle flying onto his cheeks as her arms flails around uselessly in pain. I run my fingers through their hair, letting cold run over my fingers to combat her rising temperature, gently soothing her as the sobbing laughter gets more panicked as Anders cuts through the bandages around her chest.

"Sapphire, I'm going to put you to sleep."

At this her eyes dart over to me, bloodshot and terrified, "W-what if I don't wake up again? What if it's not me?"

"It'll be OK," Rae's hand moves over to cup their cheek, "We'll make sure you wake up and you're you, nothing will creep into, I promise."

She whimpers and looks over to me for confirmation, for me to promise that she'd come back, but all I can imagine is the time that she was prone on the ground, in near pieces. "I'll....ensure you wake up again, I promise."

They swallow, "But will I be me? I-I-I don't wanna get put under, I don't!"

"Alright, then, stay awake. You're going to be in a great deal of pain." Anders' words are careless and cold as he starts to poke and prod at the thick bruises along their chest, pressing his hand down on their chest mercilessly, a rib getting pushed farther down into their chest. Sapphire arches in pain and there's nothing I can do right right now to ease them as they thrash, Rae's red eyes glowing as she glowers at Anders, except run my hands through their hair again.

I bite back the urge to yell at Anders and start looking at their chest, making sure to hum a bit louder as I do. They haven't been cleansing them self spiritually, I can tell by the claw marks along the spanse of their chest and over their breasts, in green and yellow that no one would see if they weren't a mage themselves. The lower half of their torso is littered with physical wounds, bruises, the open wound on their chest from the sneak attack, and boot marks that trail down to their hips, as though they'd been kicked a great deal of times while laying down.

I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down as Rae pulls out her scalpel, force myself to keep my expression neutral, "Sapphire, on a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in currently?"

"H-huh?"

"Where does the pain hurt the most? How can I help?"

They give me a macabre giggle, unable to keep eye contact, "I'm right as rain! In fact, I feel like I'm sleeping on a bed of daisies right now!"

Rae nudges me, motioning to their pants that we'd have to take off, and I tilt Sapphire's head so they don't see Rae taking out the knife of shredding from her pack. "Sapphire. We need to take off your pants."

Their eyes dart to Anders, as they start jerking under his touch, trying to crawl away from him. I push them down so they don't injure themself further, "Sapphire." They're eyes are wild, "Sapphire!"

Their eyes finally lock onto mine, "He won't do anything, he's not going to tell anyone. Rae and I are here, just trust us."

Sapphire can't nod, at least not very well, but at least at this they stop wildly thrashing. They're eyes are wide, bloodshot, and terrified, but they look at me with trust and understanding. 

I summon healing magic to my hands stroking their forehead and soothe, "I'm going to put you asleep now, alright? Blink twice if you understand."

Their eyes shoot over to Anders worriedly, but in the second they blink twice to give me the OK. With that I let the magic flow from my hand to their head, Sapphire's body slowing and then going still as their mangled chest rose up and down noisily.

Rae looks at me, then Anders, and nods before setting Sapphire's twisted knee back in place, working on their mess of a lower body. I press on Sapphire's chest, feeling for where the bones are most broken and fractured, as Anders goes to work setting the disks of Sapphire's spine back in place.

It takes some time, what with the blade having been poisoned when it had been plunged into Sapphire's chest, but between the dizzying amount of amount of lyrium draughts and elfroot salve (that ends up coating all the way up to elbows) I've managed to stabilize and reset all the broken ribs and protruding clavicle, my hands are shaky from the exertion. Thankfully Anders and Rae have already gotten her right arm fully aligned, so all I have to do is focus on on the mending the snapped nerves and blood vessels.

By the time we finish, Sapphire's only wearing her boxer panties and any blood that we hadn't wiped off during the operation, but they're fully healed. I can hardly feel my hands, caked in frost and gunk, my head spins from all the identical dirty wooden boards on the ground. I don't want to be the one to shock Sapphire awake, as I am now, I might miss and do serious damage. Rae drops a hand on my shoulder, trembling as well from the exhaustion, and guides my hand back to Sapphire's forehead, one thumb on the temple, pointer finger between their eyes, and middle finger on their nose. Just like Father taught us.

"Not a strong bolt, Bethany." Rae instructs gently, "Enough to wake, but not near enough to stun, like rubbing your feet on a carpet."

The analogy with the carpet is enough to figure out the voltage she's talking about and I nod as Rae pulls back, looking at me expectantly. I send a quick prayer to the Creators and send just a pulse of electric energy into Sapphire.

Their eyes snap open and they sneeze, looking much less pained and far more confused that anything else. They sit up, perfectly fine (or at least pretending to be) and give us a winning smile. "Thanks guys, I had a nice nap."

Rae pushes her back down, scrubbing her clean and healing any injuries that we might have missed, ignoring Sapphire's loud protests. 

One deep breath, I turn away, go into my pack and pack out another set of apprentice robes and hand it over to Sapphire. "Wear everything here. All of it. No more wrapping your chest."

They look away, "I didn't bandage my chest for that reason, I did have injuries after all."

I narrow my eyes at her, "Bandages are temporary, as in a few hours or less, not days on end. Put this on," I shove it into their arms, "All of it. And if I see you wearing bandages without coming for healing,so help me--!"

"Right, right!" They're laugh is high-pitched and nervous, but they stand up with Rae's assistance and start getting dressed, making an irritated face at the binder-bra.

I see Anders lingering and I shove him away from them, not liking his lingering, lecherous stare. Once we get up to the steps, I shove him into a wall, cross my arms and demand, "Why are you here? Why did you follow us?"

He scoffs and replies, "You should be thanking me. I was the one who saved your sister--"

"Don't." I interrupt severely, my jaw tightening as my fists clench. "Do NOT call Sapphire my 'sister'. They're my 'sibling' and if I catch you calling them a woman again, you can bet I'll--"

He raises his hands defensively, "I'm sorry-I didn't realize that they didn't refer to themselves as such. I'll try not to make such a mistake in the future."

"See to it that you don't." I snap, "You might've helped but that still doesn't answer the question; why did you follow us, and why are you here?"

"I...was hoping that I be able to sneak into one of the cells and set up for the night. I figured that the templars wouldn't be able to get into s noble's cellar."

"Hmph." I consider who he is, a Ferelden Grey Warden that fled the order AFTER the blight, but still proudly wears the uniform and uses his Grey Warden status to set up a shop that people will recognize as a safe harbor in the worst part of Kirkwall. I don't think he's lying, but he's most certainly using a small truth to cover up a larger lie. Add to the fact that he has a spirit companion, I'm almost surprised he hasn't already started getting contracts here for his healing services.

Whatever his motives, he DID help us, and we DO still have our standing arrangement for tonight at the Chantry. I sigh and resist my urge not to run my hands in my hair, Carver says I've been developing a 'tic', it'd break my poker face. "Anders look. For the night at least, I'll allow you to use the lower cells. But. Rae is the one who decides you stay here or not after that."

He sneers, eyes narrowed, "What, you can't make decisions for yourself? Need big sister to hold your hand?"

"I defer to Rae's judgment because we work as a team. You have so many..." I look him up and down derisively, "Talents. Yet no one can stand to work with you personally. That's why you work alone. But please," I wave my hand at the mess of a person standing in front of me, "Do enlighten me with all your unwanted advice. I'm sure you'll talk even if I tell you not to."

He glares something fierce, but keeps his mouth shut. Hmph, men. So easy to manipulate.

I turn as Rae approaches, with Sapphire in tow, both clean and smelling like Rae's lavender perfume. Rae puts her hand on her hips, "Have the two of you washed your hands? Disinfected?"

"Oh." Anders stares blankly, "I actually forgot again, didn't I?"

Rae makes a disgusted noise and produces soap in one hand and a gush of water from the other, "Here wash up now. Both of you."

By the time we're clean enough to pass Rae's standards, I've been scrubbed, polished, and pinched to pure clean perfection. I feel better, but I'm certainly not going to ask her for a message any time soon.

I feel sore in places beneath my armor that should never ache, like a creaky wind up toy. I don't even have the strength to put my greatsword in it's main holster, casually swinging around my staff.

Ah. After a few minutes of soreness, it always leaves me feeling refreshed as Rae's perfume clings to me, my staff feeling lighter than before.

There's not much noise as we go up the steps, and the bolts, arrows, and decapitated dead bodies answer as to why. Leon's the first to look up, but Varric's the one that sprints over to Sapphire's side, slowing down to a more casual pace once they get close, but he treats them with care as though they might break at any moment. Sapphire isn't complaining all that much, or at least not any more than their token protests, so I don't interrupt their little get-together and follow Leon to the room Carver must be in, by the mucky footsteps his boots had left behind.

There's no dead bodies, which is a plus, and on the wall is the family crest, in black and maroon, with fancy symmetrical lines. I hold up the key Mother gave me to open the cellar and compare it to the crest hanging on the wall.

The Amell family crest. Both look similar and have that odd arch in the middle. I have no idea why it's there, but it's very distinct, at the very least. I hear rather than see Leon shuffling around in the boxes, taking out something heavy that he can't lift, by the sudden shriek and crash as whatever he was holding falls to the ground.

I bend down to help him pick up, but Leon snatches it up before I get the chance, shoving it behind his back. "No peeking, Beth! It's a surprise for later."

I raise an eyebrow, "Who for?"

He grins in response, "You'll see."

I laugh and turn back to the family crest, shoulder to shoulder with Carver as he glares at it, while Rae reads something that must've been attached. Whatever it is, she doesn't seem pleased, and throws it to the ground, stomping on it.

The slip of paper isn't anything special, an excerpt of the Amell family, pearl-clutching and blaming all the circumstances on magic rather than bureaucracy. Hmph, typical. Any sort of mention I get about the Amell family, it's about how unfortunate we were and how magic doomed us, but no one seems to have known a single family member.

(Gamlen absolutely doesn't count.)

I look over when I hear Carver sigh, "Why're we even bothering to clean up this dump?"

I frown at him, "Dump or not, it's better than starting from nothing."

He huffs, "This is lower than the bottom of the barrel, rather than continuing to dig, should we not start anew?" He shrugs, "But we need to hide, right? We're always hiding..."

He's not wrong, but he isn't right either. "Let's just get the will." I sigh, "Even if you hate the name, it'll be good to get Gamlen off our backs."

He nods, "Hear, hear."

By the time we get to the vault, Sapphire, Leon, and Varric are already inside. Rae and Anders trail behind us, probably making arrangements, as the chest opens. A lone raven feather, previous jewels, and a large sack of gold sits inside, right next to the will.

Leon whistles, "I thought Gamlen said he'd lost the family fortune?"

Varric clicks his tongue, "C'mon, Tosser, things like that don't work in Kirkwall. Even if he lost all of his physical assets, he's still have value in liquid assets as in monetary value from any objects that can be traded by the average person."

"Varric, that's all interesting and good, and I do want to hear more about it later but, like, 'Tosser'? What does that even mean?"

"It's my new nickname for you. 'Tosser'..." He rubs his chin, looking pleased at Leon's disgruntled expression, "I think it'll stick."

"No." My answer is instant, "'Tosser' sounds too much like he's into drugs or alcohol and Leon hates both." Well, except for elfroot, but that's different.

"Try something else." Rae demands.

"Alright, alright." He pauses as Rae takes ahold of the will, then adds, "Killer."

"Finally!" Rae exclaims, still reading the will, "Someone acknowledges my murderous prowess!"

Varric chuckles nervously, moving behind Sapphire as Rae passes the will to Carver and I.

I stop listening to Sapphire and Varric banter as I read the will, the words running around and around in my head. We had grandparents that didn't hate us, a family name that would be recognized in a court of law. 

And if what Varric says is true, perhaps we can get the estate back and reclaim our fortune without having to go into the deep roads!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already got the next chapter finished and I'm gonna try and get this up and updated more often, but I think that I'm gonna try and be more consistent about this story and getting it up, because I've been posting more of my art and writing online so I'm gonna try and be more regular about it.


	13. Replan, Regroup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After securing the will, Rae and the others are in quite the hurry to take the news to their Mother, but Sapphire isn't willing to give up on going to expedition with Varric any time soon, it just means that they're going to have to make a new plan...

"I see no point in delaying the news. Let's take this Mother straight away!" Rae announces and strides out of the estate with all the others-even Anders!-following her out dutifully. Something in me pulls, I want to follow the others, watch their backs as they head into what will undoubtedly be dangerous but I'm held back by Varric's interlocked arm in my own.

He's not biting his lip, but he's nervous, I can tell. "So, uh, I'm glad you all got the will back, but they are still planning to join the expedition, right?"

The haul in that chest could easily amount to about 60-maybe even 70 if we bargain well-enough to pay for the expedition and then some. But they never really cared much about it in the first place, did they? "Varric."

I feel his eyes on me as his fingers tighten around my wrist, "Yeah?"

"The others might not be invested in the expedition, but I'm still here." I lock our fingers together, "I'll raise the 50 sovereigns with you, even if they don't want to help."

He tries to pull away but I don't let him, staying close and keeping him from pacing, "I mean your life is about to improve dramatically after all. Why would you need to keep your promise--?"

"Because I meant what I said, and I say what I mean. We'll gather the 50 sovereigns and hound Anders for the deep roads map. Creators and Mythal aid us, I don't back down from my word."

He huffs, "Good to know. But without any backup, how're we going to--?"

"I have a plan for that." It's kinda shaky, doesn't have a lot in the way of preparation, but it's not like that amount of coin is foreign to me, and people gather where coin flows.

"So, I guess this plan doesn't include this basement, right? Because the smell of dead bodies is starting to get to me..."

I tsk at him, "Dead bodies smell, but they're useful if you know what you're doing." I led him back down the steps, chuckling as he pinches his nose from the smell. I didn't see the others kill this lot, as I was in surgery after all, but Carver must've done most've the heavy lifting. Most of the bodies have been decapitated, cut to pieces, littered with bolts and arrows. 

There aren't many bolts, and Varric has the sense to retrieve his, but Leon's arrows are everywhere, lodged into the walls, crates, and boxes that he didn't bother to collect. Picking them up is a pain, but for every 100 or so arrows, I can get a few silver, especially since all of the arrows have been magically imbued to better pass through.

I hear Varric scoff, "Arrows aren't going to fetch that much coin y'know."

I glance at him, walk over to a corpse that still has it's head attached (ignoring the shredded helm, tossing it across the room) and rip the skull out of the body, enjoying Varric's wide-eyed look of shock. I wave the skull around, "Did you know? Arms and armor made from bones go for a damn high price."

He scoffs, still looking quite disgusted, "And who in their right mind wold make arms and armor from people's bones? Who the in the world would buy such a thing?"

I raise a brow, hiding a grin, "Who ever said that I was in my right mind?"

"What?" He looks back at me and the piles of bones I've amassed from the slavers and back to me again. "What?!"

I shrug, "I like making coin, killing slavers, and conjuring shit. With all this, we can kill three birds with one stone.

He raises his brows, "Yeah, sure, just make sure no Hawkes are harmed in the making of said arms and armor."

"Eh?" Why would any birds be hurt during my spells? Or the others? They aren't even here after all. Whatever.

I clap my hands together and pull them apart slowly, letting the Beyond pool between my fingers and let the sensation turn into a handy space of holding.

"What's that?"

"Pocket plane."

"...right. I'm going to pretend like that makes sense."

Ugh, have people really not heard of this stuff? Maybe it's because dwarves can't cast spells, but really I thought this would be common knowledge in a place like Kirkwall. "Listen up, Varric. Since we're partners, I'll let you in on a secret. Pocket planes let you store things in a space that isn't here or there, but held together in an area of the Beyond, or the Fade, that can be accessed at any time, and only by a person or a group with a special mark or rune."

"..." The pressed lips and incredulous expression tells me all I need to know about my explanation. It's shit. 

A sigh leaks past my lips, "Let's just put it like this; with a special device, you can store something that can't be stolen, sold, or destroyed and as an bonus it doesn't weigh much when it's carried around."

"Then doesn't that mean anything you put in it ceases to exist?"

"Nope! It just means you aren't able to access in this plane until you reopen the other plane."

"Hm..." His hand comes up to rub his chin, all the while definitely not helping me take apart bodies and gather up the arrows, at least he was still cleaning up his bolts. "Is it something that can be distributed? Like to a large group or company?"

I shrug, "Sure, if a skilled mage was able to sustain a large enough space in the Beyond, and had enough mana to sustain a multitude of runes, probably."

"But not you?"

I pause while reaching into a crate, my stomach plummeting, "I still have to wear these robes for a reason, y'know." How many times have I failed my test? How many times have I been possessed? "I'm not a full mage like Bethy or Rae, not yet, just an apprentice for now."

"Then how do you become a full mage?" 

I shrug and reply, "With magic, by magic, of course."

He snorts, "Nice answer."

"Of course it is."

I stop at a table, the Amell crest hanging on the other wall, the tarnished gold standing out amidst the blood and various gore. Odd. I don't remember fighting in this room. 

But then again, I was in surgery for while too, so I don't really know the details.

As I grab the stack of papers shoved into an imperceptibly loose board, Varric says, "Huh, I didn't get a good look at it before, but it's not the worst design I've ever seen."

I snicker, "I'm sure the rust and grime just 'give it more character'." 

"Yeah," he snickers along with me, "I guess the blood of slavers give it more 'history'."

I snort, looking over the pile of letters that were in the papers, "Uh, not the kind of history that I'd like to reclaim. I'll stick with 'Hawke' thanks."

Varric scoffs, "I think your Mother might take offense to that." 

"Feh." All the time that she spends straightening my hair and telling me how to catch a man, I'm sure she's trade in my surname if it meant that I never had to worry about templars again. "She's not that superficial."

I turn away from the crest and to Varric, "Did you get all of your bolts back?"

He shoves one back into it's pouch, "Yeah, all the ones that are salvageable at least at least."

"Good, I'll make sure I send the word out to the hogs to take care of anything else still lingering about, but let's get out of here."

He raises a brow, "What did you have plans after this?"

"Obviously." I snort, "We have to start planning out how we're gonna sell this stuff together."

"What, human bones and a pile of arrows? Who'd buy that? Well," He rubs his chin again, "I guess there would be some buyers in Darktown..."

"Eugh, no! They're gonna be used as part of conjuring."

He pushes the door open for me as we walk into Hightown.

"Where can we go that's safe to plan 'n stuff?"

"Ugh, I guess..." He leads me down further to the Dwarven Merchants Guild, the buildings changing in architectural style, as large Dwarven statues begin to loom above us. "The Tethras estate, I've been meaning to bring you there ever since you became my second anyways."

The estate that he leads me to is painted in golds and reds, the crest proudly etched into the door, a saying in Dwarvish I can't understand above the knocker. I want to stop and take in all the details, but Varric just opens up the door with his key without a second glance.

There's portraits all over the walls and ceiling is high and sweeps over our heads, balconies fitted into the walls, and windows that have large, sharp arches.

"Hurry up now," Varric pokes me forward with a small prod to the side, "You don't wan to be out in the open before dinner. You'd probably be trampled by everyone getting to the table."

Trampled? "How many family members do you have?"

"If we're talking immediate family, it's just me and Bartrand. But extended family?" He looks around before unlocking a door with another key. "More than at least a 100."

Once I'm inside his room, he starts locking the door, but there's more more locks than he opened with the key, at least six of them .

"Uh, do you need all those locks?" I thought family lived here, "Why would you have to keep things under lock and key?"

"Didn't you hear me? I have over a 100 family members, and a bunch of them have families of their own." He huffs and throws his duster onto the back of a large stone chair, sinking into it and motioning me to sit next to him in a similar chair. "Just because they live in the estate, doesn't mean they all have good intentions."

I open my mouth to argue but then, just because someone is blood doesn't mean they care about you; case and point being Gamlen. "I guess you're right. So!" I grin and smack my hands together, "We should get started!"

I move to dump out the stuff I collected earlier, but Varric stops me, "Hey, hey, hey, hold on! Don't go dumping human bones on my table!"

? "Where am I gonna work then?"

"Not on my table, sod it all! Can't you just work in the pocket plane or whatever?" 

"No? It's not here? That's the whole point of pocket planes after all." 

"Ugh, well just, I dunno put it on a towel or something?"

Where would the towels even be? Whatever. I dump all the contents of the plane onto the ground.

"Hey! Watch the rug!"

I pick up a shoulder-elbow bone, "So, think this should be a longsword or a greatsword?"

"Eh, I think you should get it off my rug first."

"Tch, fuck you, I'll make a mace outta this."

"Why'd you even ask if you weren't going to listen in the first place?"

I focus on the shape of the hammer, the feel of the ridged pommel in my hand, as well as the sharp spikes peeling out from the shredded vessels in the bone marrow. By the time I blink again, I'm holding the mace in my hand but it's not much larger than my arm. Not really something any self-respecting warrior would use, but I could use it as a base for a staff.

"So, is that all? Looks kinda useless."

"It's not!" Knew I should've drawn up blueprints for this. "I'm just warming up is all!"

"Uh-huh. So, are you going to add runes to it, or is it just gonna stay like that?"

"I told you!" I defend, "This one's just a warm-up! I just have to get some practice on what I'm trying to make for weapons and runes, yeah! N-no need to be so dismissive."

"Hmph. I suppose I just don't know why you'd use bones when there's perfectly good silverite you could be using?"

"I dunno how to shape silverite, Varric. I didn't exactly have silverite lying around to practice on in Ferelden. Bones are easy to find, use, and practice on too."

"I mean...I guess."

"So, got any paper?"

He whips out a piece of paper his tunic like he's carrying a whole booklet of empty pages. "I always carry around a bunch notebook in case inspiration strikes."

"Huh." Makes sense, since he is a storyteller after all, but how many notebooks does he have on him...? "Thanks! Alright, so what type of weapon do you think I should sketch?" So many possibilities...

"Can you make a copy of Bianca?"

Uh what part of 'I'm a full mage yet' doesn't he get? Well, I guess I should just feel glad that he thinks I'm capable of such a thing. "...I can make a Ferelden crossbow, but I have no idea how Bianca works."

"Huh?" He looks at me curiously, "You have to know how something works to create it?"

"I mean, if you didn't know how Bianca worked, would you think to mess with the gears?"

"Of course!" He scoffs, "O mean, most dwarven crossbows have gears like these. Not as advanced of course, as Bianca is." He adds, fondling Bianca's stock, "But I kinda see the point you're making."

"Right. You'd want to know what you're working with before you start messing with things that might break it." I motion to my measly mace, "Same with conjuring, yeah?"

"Ok, so what weapon style is it going to be?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you can make a full set of weapons in one style, perfect it, then sell the pieces you like the most."

"I suppose. Well, there's city types, forest and mountain sets--"

"What are you talking about? That's-those aren't-you're just making shit up, aren't you?"

Wha? "No, that's the types of weapons I'd see in Ferelden, what do you mean?"

"So, it just, what looks like a mountain or whatever?"

"That's not...weapons can be made from the image or sensation of something else, like mountains or trees. The object just has to, y'know, embody the thought-slash-feeling and put it into a new object."

"Ok, I get that it's the embodiment but that doesn't answer what style the weapons are supposed to be. Like," Varric holds up Bianca, "For example, Bianca's a crossbow of dwarven make, you can tell by the enamel and shape of the  crossguard."

Hm, "So, are there like...elven styled weapons?"

"Of course. Do you...need a reference or something? I mean I have a few books..."

If we had book like this in Ferelden, Dad would've made us memorize each page and recite our notes back to him. "That'd be most helpful, actually."

He motions me over to his bookshelf, and though there's lots of books, there's more scattered paper and dust than anything else. Varric offers me a heavy tome, written in Dwarvish, that I still can't read. So, 'cuz I don't want to look like an idiot, I just start flipping through pages until I find an illustration.

Uh.  


"Let's move!To the, uh, next one."

None of these pictures are what I thought they'd be, lots of them are really confusing sex illustrations. Like, seriously, what sex should have blades involved?

"Here!" He furiously taps a page, his cheeks much more flushed than normal, "Focus on this!"

If not for the fact that this page is pretty useful, I'd have gone to another illustration just to spite him.

...Hm. I didn't know there was this many technical terms all to describe the killing end of the mace, but alright. Also, didn't know that something could be the same and have this many similar-but-not-the-same shapes.

By the time I put the book down, my head spinning and I'm regretting walking around carrying the massive tome while I read.

"Uh, you alright? You look a bit tired."

"Eh? I do?"

"It probably doesn't help that you're coming out from a surgery." There's something specific in the way he says this, but I don't now what he could be referring to. "If you're done with that book, we should head back to the Hanged Man and start doing more research." 

Maybe he-wait, no he definitely does have more books in his suite. "I thought you wanted me to rest?"

"I do. But Bartrand comes back to the estate around this time." He grabs his duster and starts filling his pouches with various keys, bolts, and other objects. "Believe me when I say he can bring out the worst in people."

I snicker, "So, you're relationship with Bartrand isn't close I take it?"

"Nope."

Damn, sick burn. "Well, if we're going to Lowtown, can't we just jump into the water and walk out?"

He sighs, locking up the door, "That is not how gravity works, Sapphire."

"Not for  you , anyways."

He pauses midstep as we exit the estate, "'Not for me'? What, you can control gravity now?"

I huff, "I might be only an apprentice, but that doesn't mean I haven't started my vocations yet. It just means I'm not--"

The templar sends me flying by a good seven feet and doesn't even apologize! By the time I'm standing and dusted myself off, I see Varric's proffered hand just. Waiting. I shake it, "Thanks." I'm sure it was a helping hand, but I already helped myself. "Mind if we stop by the chantry? I have a complaint to make."

He pats my back and walks in step with me, "What're ya gonna do? Go in? Start yelling that someone pushed you over?"

"Damn right I-" A sheaf of paper on the chanters' board catches my eye. Sebastian Vael? Didn't Bethany mention something about him the other day? Arguing with the head priest-nun or something? "I'll just start with this."

"..." He sighs, eyebrows raised, "I guess that's something."

The chantry's incense and burning candles sting at my nose, but thankfully there aren't many people here, priest, believers, or otherwise. Overlooking the rest of the Chantry was a woman sipping tea with a head full of gray hair in black and gold robes. Must be someone important if she's up there.

She looks up from her tea as we approach and I hold up the paper with a frown. "Hello, stranger. If you're here for the job, you should know that while Sebastian is a good lad, he's had a terrible shock." She reaches to take the paper from my hand, but I keep it out of reach. The lady gives me a pinched smile, "Ah excuse me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm grand Cleric Elthina, the one who cares for the flock in Kirkwall, and I've declared that job to be invalid."

Interesting. The furrowed brow and faint irritation on her face as I pocket the paper is most amusing. "This paper claims that his family was murdered?"

"Sebastian is the youngest son of the ruling family in Starkhaven. They were overthrown recently. Violently. Sebastian is the only surviving member."

"When you say 'violently'," I repeat in air quotes, "Do you mean that his family was assassinated? There was a coup d'etat? Or was it some illness that struck them down?"

The grand cleric sniffs, "While I do sympathize with Sebastian, it can be dealt with by the city officials of Starkhaven, and so I don't believe it would be wise to speculate and gossip about such matters."

Right. That's how she wants to play, then fine, I'll discover what happened by myself. "Sebastian? That was his name?"

"Sebastian Vael." The irritation bleeds out just slightly from her face, "He was affirmed here nearly a decade ago. He had just been invested as a brother when the news about his family when the news came and reacted rashly, abandoning his vows and leaving the Chantry." The wrinkles at her eyes crease up a bit, "If the Maker wills it, then he will return to us."

If the 'Maker' wills it, huh? That seems like a lot of work for a god that gets praised for doing nothing, but that's her business. "So, is Sebastian some kinda priest? A monk? I mean, I've heard about his skills with his hands..."

She looks a bit haughty, raising her nose in the air, "Oh, I'm sure you have, he was sent here after all to straighten out his behaviour. But he has become an initiate of faith, forsaken all mortal flesh and desires to assist the Chantry, even if he cannot serve as a Mother would." She gives me a sly smile, "If you come in the mornings, I'm sure you would have gotten the chance to hear him singing the Chant. He has a very lovely voice."

That's cool, maybe I should tell Bethy about him. She loves men with strong hands and voices like silk after all. Maybe she'll stop complaining about the pain of being a virgin when we get drunk too.

"Before last week," the cleric continues wistfully, "I would have said that he was the most faithful of our true believers."

More power to him for getting out of this snotty, stuck up, corrupt system, seems like his talents were going to a waste anyways. "Well, I think his family deserves to be avenged. It's not right to turn a blind eye to someone in peril, you know."

"Unless you're the one who put them in that peril, huh?" Varric mumbles under his breath. It would be unprofessional, so I don't jab him in the ribs like I want to.

"Sebastian would spend coin to buy men's lives, the same as those who attacked his family. No matter how justified he feels, that is murder." She sneers, looking down her nose at us, "And when he returns, I will tell him again."

"Odd, that you'd say that, cleric," I reply, remembering the chanters' board in Lothering, "In Ferelden, the Chantry actually paid to have bandits killed or taken care of when they were running a highway robbery business. Is that not the same as what Sebastian is doing? Paying someone to make sure that the people who are known for killing his family, don't come and do the same to him?"

She pauses, eyes hardening as she crosses her arms, "You are from across the sea, are you not? Perhaps in Ferelden, the Chantry did post such jobs and offers, however that was during a time of crisis and the Maker knew that they would be forgiven."

"So, which is it? Does the maker condone murder or only when it's useful? He sure didn't seem to care about people dying when the darkspawn rolled in." Lothering had been terrible before the wardens arrived, dead bodies strewn on the side of the road, elves and other Chasind treated like thieves when they came for help, and food resold for atrocious prices when the merch ant had bought most of our stock just before the battle at Ostagar. The maker sure didn't do anything to keep us from watching our homes turn to ash as the taint devoured the land, didn't help when the ogre smashed me against the ground like a gnat.

"It was a near thing that happened in Ferelden, but in the end the Maker stepped in."

I huff, "Last I checked, it was the Hero of Ferelden and the Grey Wardens that saved us all, slaying the archdemon. The maker had nothing to do with it."

She laughs and my eye twitches at the sound, a nasally and self-righteous laugh that she belts out. "Sometimes the Maker chooses the most unlikely vessels." She catches her breath, hiding a smile behind her hand, "Even a dwarf may be doing His work."

"Why do I get the feeling," Varric chimes in, tone amicable but eyebrows raised, "That you haven't met that many dwarves, Your Grace?"

"We never know whose hand He may favor." She turns back to her cup of tea, "However, I have much more to do, many duties to take care of. I think it's time for you and your companion to leave."

I want to complain some more, but if the head cleric in charge is this much of a philandering racist, then I don't think bringing it up is going to do anything. I nod my head, but I make sure not to smile as I think to myself, 'I'm going to paint these walls red.' I'm sure I can think of a few templars that could use a good smiting too.


End file.
